The One
by Mista Mugs
Summary: A man named Magnus has a destiny that begins to unravel before him when by what seems like an accident brings Crono, Marle, and Lucca to meet him. But a being known only as Kilborne seems bent on twisting Magnus to his own ends and the four friends are ca
1. Prologue

The One  
Prologue  
  
The child walked around with a confused and worried face. He was ten years old and had been walking for   
sometime, in fact, he had walked for so long he was lost, and no one offered to help him. He had been   
playing in front of his apartment building, when he had thought he saw one of his friends. He called out,   
and had run after to catch up, only to find that the person was gone. He had wandered farther and farther,   
until he realized that the sun was going down and that he was somewhere where he had never being before.  
  
"Where am I?" the child wondered aloud with a hint of fear in his voice. Not a person near him paid him   
any mind; he wasn't their responsibility. The child continued to walk into an alleyway. It was dark and he   
couldn't see far down the alley, the sun had finally set, casting darkness everywhere.  
  
"Well, well, well. What have we here Jim? A little boy all lost and needing some help perhaps?" a tall man   
said from the darkness.  
  
"Maybe he came here to help us?" the man named Jim said with a hint of humor. "Bob, why don't we roll   
the little bastard and leave him for the bums?"  
  
The boy recoiled at the man's harsh sounding voice and started to back away, only to bump into another   
man, this one was overweight but was strong. He grabbed the boy by the shoulder's and said "Where you   
going kid? We just want your money and anything worth selling off ya. What's that yer holdin?" the big   
man said. "Hey looky here boys! This squirt's got nice looking watch on him."  
  
The three men laughed as they advanced on the scared and shaking child. He wanted to be back at home,   
safe with his mother. The man named Bob was reaching for the child when a blue light appeared behind   
them, and quickly enlarged to a huge circle of blue light. Suddenly, a man with spiked red air, a woman   
with long blonde hair, and another man with a flashy blue shirt came out of the portal.  
  
"It's happening exactly like the last time." The man in the blue shirt said.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll stop it this time." The woman said in a soothing voice.  
  
"I don't know who the hell you weirdo's are, but we found this kid and he's ours!" the big man snarled.  
  
"Shut your mouth you fat piece of crap! I've waiting a long time for this!" the man in the blue shirt snarled   
back. "You gave me this," he said pointing to a nasty looking scar across his cheek from his jaw line to his   
ear, "now I'm gonna get you back for it!"  
  
The big man grabbed the child and produced a knife from his pocket, holding it to the child's face. "One   
move and I cut this little bastard, ya hear?!" he yelled.  
  
"Do it, and you don't live to see the next day." The man with the red hair replied coldly, drawing what   
appeared to be a slightly curved sword.  
  
"I said, don't try anything! Maybe this will convince you!" the big man yelled as he sliced the child's cheek   
from the jaw line to the ear. The child screamed in pain and fear, but the man in blue quickly jumped at the   
big man, knocking the child to the wall and the big man to the ground.  
  
"You shouldn't have done that faggot!" the big man yelled as he landed a roundhouse to the man in blue's   
ribs. He barely moved as he brought back his fist and smashed it into the big man's face, knocking him out   
cold. He got off him to find the other two men on the ground, one dead, and the other cowering in front of   
the woman, begging for his life. She quickly smashed her foot into his face, knocking him out.  
  
"Gotta help the kid, give me something to stop the bleeding!" he said as the woman handed him a cloth and   
he approached the child. "Don't worry, your safe." He said as the boy passed out. The man took off his   
blue shirt and wrapped it around the child. "Hope the three-heads bring him luck too." He muttered under   
his breath and lifted the child up and started to walk away, his companions behind him. He walked straight   
to the boy's house, like he knew where it was, and knocked on the door, leaving the child on the doorstep   
to be found by his mother and taken to the hospital. He smiled, he hadn't stopped the scar, but he had   
shown the bastards in the alley something. They walked back to the alley, and disappeared into another   
circle of blue light. The men who had tried to mug the child lay in pools of blood for someone to find.  



	2. Chapter One The Start

The One  
Chapter One : The Start  
  
The sunrise shone in through Crono's window, covering his eyes with light and causing him to mumble   
incoherently then slowly open his eyes.  
  
"Come on sleepy-head! Wake up!" his mother yelled at him as she stepped away from the window. In the   
distant, a bell chiming could be heard. "Ah, I love the sound of Nadia's bell in the morning. It's so   
peaceful." Crono's mom said.  
  
"Mom, I want to sleep longer. Give me another hour, OK?" Crono asked as he squinted in the sun.  
  
"No Crono, you've being asleep all morning! It's noon! And didn't you promise Lucca you would go with   
her to the castle today to see Nadia?" his mother scolded him.  
  
"I know, I know. I'm getting up." Crono mumbled. His mother headed downstairs and Crono got out of   
bed. He quickly got dressed and than crouched down towards his cats. "Guess you guys need to be fed   
right?" he asked the two cats sitting by the dish waiting to be fed. He poured some cat food into the dish,   
which the cat's munched happily, grabbed his sword which he never went anywhere without, and ran down   
the stairs. "See ya later mom!" he called as he rushed out the door.  
  
"Don't come home -- *Slam* -- late." She called after him as he closed the door. "That boy, sometimes I   
wonder."  
  
Crono dashed from his house, nodding hello to his neighbors and headed quickly towards Lucca's house.   
He got as far as the bridge connecting Lucca's house to the main land when an explosion sounded from the   
house. He stopped in shock, shook his head and smiled, and continued to run towards her house. When he   
got to the door, he knocked, and was greeted by a voice yelling, "Come on in! Watch the stuff by the   
door!"  
  
Crono opened the door and walked in. As he closed the door, he was covered in loose ends of machines and   
dirty clothes. He groaned as he pushed the stuff off of him, and looked towards the living room, where   
Lucca sat, fiddling with some new gadget. Her face and hair were covered in soot, and behind her lay a   
smoking pile of parts, which Crono decided was the cause of the explosion.   
  
"Crono! Took ya long enough! You took so long, I decided to start working on a new gun, when BOOM! It   
exploded in my face. So I started a new one. What's so funny?" she asked as Crono started to laugh.  
  
"Your covered in soot!" he exclaimed between chuckles. "And we're going to the castle right away. Your   
gonna have to go like that!" he teased.  
  
"Shut up! I'll just be a few minutes. Don't touch anything!" she warned as she rushed upstairs to her room   
to clean up.  
  
Crono sat down on the floor and waited for Lucca to finish cleaning up. He looked around the room.   
Despite all the failures she had made some amazing machines. Like the Telepod that had sent them back in   
time and on the adventure to save the world. There was also the gate key and those guns she made. But   
still, Crono was bored. He didn't understand a lot about machines and as long as they didn't blow up and   
worked they were fine.  
  
"OK, I'm ready! Let's go!" she said as she came downstairs. The two friends started towards the castle.  
  
The walked through Guardia Forest, which was quiet and peaceful since no Mystics were violent towards   
humans anymore. The peace had been secured when the ferry to the Mystic village and Truce had been   
completed.   
The two friends cleared the forest in a few minutes and emerged in front of Guardia Castle. Crono was still   
amazed at how big it was and how magnificent it looked. Lucca noticed him staring up at the castle and   
mistook it for him looking for Marle.  
  
"Come on lover boy. She couldn't see you anyway if she was up in a window." Lucca said in a sappy tone   
of voice.  
  
"Shut up. I wasn't looking for her. I was just looking at the castle for a big banner saying 'Crono is our   
hero!' in big letters for everyone to see!" Crono joked as he playfully punched Lucca in the arm.  
  
"Sure. Next thing you know they'll pronounce you king and everyone will swear loyalty toward you."   
Lucca said in a sarcastic tone.   
  
"Exactly!" Crono replied as Lucca made a false bow towards him.  
  
"Who goes there?!" yelled a guard at the front of the castle, interrupting the two friends.  
  
"It's just Princess Nadia's friends. They are expected. Come in." Another guard answered his comrade's   
question as he opened the giant door for Crono and Lucca.   
  
"Thanks guys!" Lucca said cheerfully.  
  
The two friends continued to walk in the castle. The walked up the main stairs towards the throne room. A   
guard they had not seen before stopped them outside of the throne room and stated "I apologize, but a new   
policy has come in affect recently. There are to be no weapons allowed in the throne room except for the   
king's guards."  
  
"Well, I guess that's OK." Crono replied as he took off his katana. "Don't lose it now. This is one of my   
favorite ones." Crono joked as he handed the Swallow over. He had left the Rainbow at home, as he always   
did except in emergencies, because he was afraid it might be stolen by a thief. And if he lost it, well, that   
wouldn't be good for him or others.  
  
"Thank you sir, we will take the utmost care of it until you come back." The soldier said.  
  
Lucca had not taken a weapon, so they were allowed to enter the throne room. When they entered it, they   
saw the king finishing talking to a man. They waiting in the entranceway out of respect until the king was   
finished.  
  
"Well Palet, that finishes the day's accounts, you can leave." The king said to Palet the bookkeeper.   
"Crono, Lucca, it is good to see you both. Come here. Nadia will be ready in a few minutes."  
  
"Thank you your magesty." Lucca said.  
  
"Yeah thanks a lot man." Crono said.  
  
Lucca quickly kicked Crono in the shin and he jumped a bit. "What did ya do that for?" he asked as he   
rubbed his sore shin.  
  
"So some respect you dolt! This is the king we're talking to!" Lucca said angrily.  
  
The king was watching this with amusement and started to chuckle. The two stared at him in bewilderment,   
but soon started to laugh along with him. They had finally stopped laughing when Marle came down the   
stairs.  
  
"Hey guys! Hope father didn't bore you too much!" Marle said in a perky tone.  
  
"Nadia! Please, act like royalty." The king pleaded.   
  
"I was just kidding daddy. Anyway, let's get going you guys!" Marle practically yelled.  
  
"Be careful Nadia. Come home early." The king said.  
  
"Of course daddy." Marle said in her sweetest voice.  
  
The three friends walked out of the throne room in a bit of a rush. The king's knight captain leaned over   
and whispered into the kings ear "Sire, not to question your judgement, but should the princess not take her   
guard with her?"  
  
"Do not worry Grensal, she will be in the best of care with Crono. He has proven himself time and time   
again. Remember that he beat that monster that impersonated the chancellor. He is a fine warrior." The   
king replied back.  
  
"As you wish my lord." The knight captain said with doubt still in his voice.  
  
Crono and his friends walked out of the throne room and back to where the weapons were stored for   
visitors. Crono walked up to the guard and asked, "Can I have my sword back?"  
  
"Of course sir Crono. Here it is. And if I might add, it is a fine weapon." The soldier said with a smile.  
  
"It should be, Melchior made it." Crono replied mostly to himself.  
  
"Princess." The guard saluted as Marle walked by.  
  
Crono, Marle, and Lucca quickly walked out of the castle, they were all eager to get away from the castle   
and its formalities. The three friends started to walk through Guardia forest.  
  
"You know Crono, we should figure out somewhere to spend the day, just us friends." Marle said, slipping   
her arm around Crono's. "Where should we go?"  
  
"I don't know, we've go everywhere interesting… maybe we should just go to the fairgrounds?" Crono   
suggested.  
  
"No way, that place is boring without an actual fair going on." Lucca said with a bored face.  
  
"Well, maybe we can go to--" Marle was cut short as Crono put his hand to her mouth and signaled for   
them to be quiet.  
  
Crono removed his hand from Marle's mouth and quickly drew the Swallow. He wished he had brought the   
Rainbow, but the Swallow was almost as good. He motioned for the girls to stay were they were and to   
keep talking as he crept around a bush.  
  
"Um, so Lucca, um, you got a boyfriend yet?" Marle said in a hesitant voice.  
  
"No, not, um, yet. Have you and Crono, um, finally got together?" Lucca asked just as nervously.  
  
"Not yet… so yeah." Marle responded as she saw Crono sneak behind the bush out of the corner of her eye.  
  
The girls kept talking as Crono finally snuck up on the bush. He saw a man in armor crouching, his hand   
poised over his broadsword. Crono figured he was an assassin and brought his sword to the strange mans   
back.  
  
"Move, and I kill you." Crono said coldly. "Turn around."  
The man dropped his hand and turned around slowly. Relief washed over Crono's face as he recognized the   
man as the Knight Captain's right hand man, Charles. He was also one of Crono's newer friends since his   
adventure.  
  
"Charles! Dammit! You shouldn't be sneaking around like that! I could have killed you!" Crono exclaimed.   
He then yelled out "It's OK guys, I know the man."  
  
Marle and Lucca came over to where Crono and Charles were standing. Lucca instantly recognized him,   
but Marle had not yet met him.  
  
"Sorry about sneaking around, but the Knight Captain wanted me to make sure you guys were going to be   
OK, but I wasn't supposed to be found. Guess I gotta work on my sneaking abilities." Charlies said with a   
sheepish grin.  
  
"Don't worry about it. Guess you figured out Marle's safe with me right." Crono sated more than asked.  
  
"Who's Marle?" Charles asked.  
  
Crono mentally kicked himself and said, "I mean Nadia."  
  
"Oh, yes I did, but I still have to come with you, orders and all. Not the king's mind you, so if Princess   
Nadia sends me home I will go." Charles said matter-of-factly.  
  
"That's OK Charles. Nice to meet you." Marle said, extending her hand.  
  
Charles shook her hand and Crono said "Why don't we just go into town and find something to do there?"  
  
"Sounds good Crono, first good idea that's come out of that head of yours in a while!" Lucca joked.  
  
"Shut up." Crono said as he punched Lucca playfully in the arm.  
  
They continued through the forest undisturbed and walked into the town of Truce. They were walking past   
the bar when a man came running out of it, bumping into Marle and quickly walking away from them.   
Marle felt as if something was wrong, and when she looked, she realized her pendent was gone.  
  
"My pendent, that man stole my pendent!" Marle shouted.  
  
"Come on!" Crono shouted running ahead after the man. The other quickly followed. They ran after the   
man, who seemed to be a little too fast, to the outskirts of town. He looked back and doubled his speed,   
heading towards the forest where the Cathedral stood in 600 a.d. Crono kept running, as did the others,   
until they came to an entrance to the forest. Crono stopped there and waited for the others.  
  
"He went in here, come on!" Crono yelled and they all went into the forest.  
  
As the friends entered the forest, the man smiled. They couldn't see him because he was hiding behind a   
boulder. 'Everything is going as it should.' the man thought to himself.  
  
Inside the forest, the friends came to a clearing with some ancient looking ruins, the old Cathedral. They   
stopped and looked around. Crono started to step towards the ruins when Charles stopped him. "Wait   
Crono, I'll check it out. Stay with the princess."  
  
Crono nodded and went back to Marle as Charles stepped into the ruins. They waited for awhile, and when   
Charles did not come out, Lucca got a worried look on her face.  
  
"We better go in after him." She said.  
  
They all nodded and started to enter the ruins. They came to a dead end in a bit. They started to walk back,   
but found another wall in their way. They looked around and realized that they were trapped.  
  
"Great, what do we do now?" Crono asked.  
  
"Looks like we're stuck." Lucca said with a defeated tone. She started to look around and spotted   
something near the wall. "Hey guys! Look at this!"  
  
Where Lucca was looking was a closed gate. Marle and Crono gasped. "Didn't they all close up after we   
killed Lavos?" Marle asked.  
  
"At different rates, this one must still be open. Hmm… it's the only way out." Lucca said.  
  
"Shouldn't we wait here for help to come…oh yeah, no one knows we're here. Guess your right Lucca.   
You still got the Gatekey?" Marle asked.  
  
"Yeah, I always seem to hang on to junk all the time. Here goes nothing." Lucca said with a grimace and   
activated to Gatekey.   
  
The gate quickly opened, sending cool winds blowing into the room, Crono sighed and jumped in. Marle   
followed him with a shake of her head and then Lucca jumped in last.  
  
After the gate had closed, it completely disappeared. The man smiled, it always worked. 'The fools.' he   
thought as he opened up a new gate and stepped into it laughing.  



	3. Chapter Two A New Face

The One  
Chapter Two : A New Face  
  
Magnus ran through the streets in a hurry. The year was 2001, and he was late and knew that he would   
catch hell if he didn't get there soon. He was seventeen with blonde hair and green eyes. He was tall and   
muscular, but he never used that to push others around, only to protect himself. He was rushing to get to   
work, and as usual, he was late. His boss was going to be mad at him again. He would just have to use the   
same excuse, someone was sick and he had to get him or her something or other. He couldn't tell his boss   
what he really was doing. He had to work two jobs to help pay his mothers rent so she wouldn't be throw   
out of her house. His job at the harbor was in the morning, but it sometimes went into the afternoon when   
he had to work at the supermarket bagging food. At least his boss didn't mind too badly.  
  
"Oh man, I can't believe that stupid dick made me stay an extra hour to haul crates. Now I'm gonna be   
late!" Magnus exclaimed to himself. "Mr. Anderson's not gonna like this."  
  
Magnus rushed into the employee door of the supermarket and quickly changed into this uniform. As he   
walked out of the change room, his boss stopped him. "Magnus, you're late again. That's the third time this   
week." Magnus started to give his excuse but his boss cut him off and said, "I know, I know, someone's   
sick and they needed something. Don't do it again."  
  
"Never again Mr. Anderson. I promise!" Magnus said with a sigh of relief.  
  
Magnus quickly walked over to his station and began to bag the food already accumulating there. He did   
this for awhile but found himself starting to stare off into the window thinking about his lessons. He had   
taken up sword fighting and martial arts ever since that night so long ago. Some red haired guy with a   
sword and another guy who fought with his fists expertly had saved him. They had saved him but not fast   
enough. Those hoods had still managed to leave a nasty scar running along his jaw line to his ear. They had   
taken him home wrapped in a blue shirt with a figure on it that had three faces, and that shirt had never left   
him since. He had worn it to work today in fact.  
  
He realized that he was daydreaming again and shook his head and went back to work. 'Today's going to   
be a long day.' He thought to himself.  
  
After work, Magnus walked slowly back home, he was tired but was also happy, he had tomorrow off from   
both jobs, a rare treat, and he was going to spend that day lounging around and walking the streets looking   
for something to do. He couldn't wait. He was in his own world when he walked into an alley by his   
apartment, a short cut he frequented. He didn't notice the fist flying for his face until it was too late. It hit   
him and he staggered backwards, momentarily stunned. Four men surrounded him. Magnus regained his   
senses. 'So these guys think I'll be an easy mark, huh?' Magnus thought, 'I'll show them.'  
  
Magnus quickly brought up his fists in a defensive stance and waited for the first attack. It came from the   
tallest one of the four attackers. A fist with knuckles on it came flying at Magnus' jaw. Magnus quickly   
grabbed the guy's fist, twisting his arm and snapping the elbow with his free hand. The tall guy howled in   
pain, but was knocked out by another fist flying into his face.  
  
"Anyone else want some?!" Magnus demanded of the group. They quickly backed off. "Smart move   
fellows, you better take your friend here someplace to get his arm fixed. That could be a nasty break."   
Magnus said with a grin.  
  
The three men picked up their friend and ran off. Magnus' grin faded, he thought about how lucky he had   
just been. Those three guys could have killed him if they hadn't gotten scared at the last moment. He   
reached up towards his nose, and realized it was freely flowing blood. "Crap, gonna have to wash my shirt   
when I get home." He said, holding his hand on his nose to stop the bleeding.  
  
He quickly ran home, opened the door and went to the bathroom. He grabbed a towel and held it against his   
nose, but realized the bleeding had already stopped. 'Weird' he thought, but then again, he had always   
healed fast for some reason.  
  
He washed the blood off his hands and took off his shirt. He put the shirt in the sink with water to soak out   
the blood. Today had been a long day.  
  
Magnus woke up the next morning, early than he would have wanted, and got out of bed. He went to get   
something to eat, but his fridge was empty except for some old bread.  
  
"Great," he mumbled to himself, "looks like I gotta go to McDonalds for breakfast."  
  
Magnus dressed rather slowly, and headed out the door, locking it. He walked outside, inhaling deeply. For   
some reason, morning air always smelt the best to him. He walked slowly towards McDonalds, he felt no   
need to rush.  
  
Back with Crono and his friends………….  
  
Crono, Marle, and Lucca had just jumped into the gate, leaving an empty room. They shot through the gate   
and Crono still found himself amazed at the blue and purple colors that swept by him. He loved to go   
through gates. The rush and the adrenaline felt great. He looked ahead and saw the end of the gate and he   
felt a bit disappointed. The ride was always over so quick. He landed in a pile of trash in an alley. Marle   
came crashing down on him, followed by Lucca.  
  
"Get off me you guys, I can't breath!" Crono gasped.  
  
"Alight, alright." Lucca mumbled as she and Marle stood up. Crono stood up after them, and his eyes   
opened wide, he had never seen something so tall. He looked up and he could just see the sky above the tall   
buildings he was standing between.  
  
"Wow, we must be in the future. Guess it turned out alright after all, huh?" Lucca said with amazement.  
  
"Yeah, but we better not get seen. We probably don't look right in our clothes." Marle pointed out.  
  
They started to walk a bit, when they were stopped by six dirty looking men.  
  
"Looky here boys, we gots ourselves some wanderers. Some weird clothes you got here chicky, why not   
take 'em off?" the first man said with a sneer.  
  
Laughter could be heard from the other men, and another spoke up, "Just give us your money and the   
chicks, and you can go pal."   
  
Crono responded by drawing his katana. It gleamed in the dim sunlight. The laughter stopped.  
  
"Looks like the bastard wants to fight! And he's got a sword too!" another man said, drawing a long blade   
of his own.  
  
Crono backed Marle and Lucca behind him, it looked like he would have to take them all on by himself.   
The man with the hunting knife jumped at Crono, only to have his blade broken in two by Crono's   
Swallow. Crono mentally thanked the gods for Melchior's great craftsman shift.  
  
The man backed away a bit, but soon he and two others started to advance on him. Crono looked them up   
and down. Even with his sword this would get ugly.  
  
At the same time, Magnus was walking back from McDonalds. He started through the alley he usually   
took, but saw a fight was brewing. 'One guy against six other! That poor bastard's gonna need some help.'   
Magnus thought to himself. As he got closer, a shocked expression appeared on his face. He recognized the   
man. 'That's one of the guy's who helped me back then!' That made up his mind, he was going to help the   
man just like the man had helped him.  
  
Meanwhile, Crono was getting worried. He could take these two, but what if the others decided to jump in,   
he'd be in trouble then and to top things off, he was the only one with a weapon. The two men approaching   
on Crono pulled some more wicked looking knifes. They were long and looked very sharp. Crono didn't let   
this worry cross his face.  
  
"Bring it on." Crono said coldly.  
  
"You just signed your own death certificate punk." The first man said, running quickly at Crono.  
  
Crono brought up his sword just in time to block the wide swipes the man made with his knife. Crono   
quickly ducked his head back as another one came flying at his face. He swung his sword in retaliation at   
the second man, neatly removing the knife and three fingers from the man's hand. Blood squirted out of the   
stumps as the man looked stupidly at his had. He looked up in time to see Crono's sword stab into his chest,   
through his heart, killing him almost instantly. Crono felt sick to his stomach, he hated killing other people,   
but he would kill all these bastards if need be.  
  
"You little fucking asshole! I'm gonna gut your sorry ass!" the second man said, charging forward.  
  
Crono saw his anger, and used it against the man. He sidestepped him and when the man stumbled, almost   
falling and Crono clubbed him with the hilt of his sword knocking him out cold. Crono looked back   
towards the remaining four. They all wore looks of anger and fear.  
  
"We gonna kill you and take your girlfriends, gonna make you watch us kill 'em slowly, then we might kill   
you, or just torture you." One of the remaining men said with a sneer.  
  
Crono stared coldly at the man, his anger slowly building, but he managed to keep it in check. If he got   
angry, he got stupid.  
  
"Yeah, we gonna mess ya up good." Another man began, but was cut off by a new voice.  
  
"Four against one, not very fair is it? How about I help out here?" Magnus said, stepping out from the   
shadows. "Don't worry man," he said turning to Crono, "We can take 'em."  
  
Crono just nodded, happy for the help. Another man stepped out of the shadows, this one being very big   
and menacing. "You guys are pissing me off. Killing one of us was the worst thing ya could've done." The   
big man said as he put on some brass knuckles.  
  
Magnus stepped up to Crono's side, looked at him and nodded. Crono nodded back, he knew what to do.   
Suddenly they burst straight toward the group of four thugs. Crono slashed at the man closest to him, but   
the man managed to duck in time. The man brought his fist up into Crono's midsection, stunning him for a   
second. The man reared up to punch Crono, but he found a bloody stump slapping across his chest. He   
stared at it, shocked. He didn't even notice the sword slashing down on his head, decapitating him. The   
body fell to the ground and Crono rushed to find another opponent.   
  
Magnus rushed up to the man in front of the leader, throwing a well-aimed fist at the man's face, knocking   
him back with an explosion of blood coming from his nose. The man staggered back and said "You gonna   
fucking die slowly now."  
  
Magnus didn't even give him a chance to go through with the threat. He spun kick his right leg into the   
man's throat, crushing it. The man fell to the ground, clutching his throat, but soon stopped moving   
altogether. There was only the big man with the knuckles and another man who had yet to say or do   
nothing.  
Crono ran up to the quiet man, swinging his sword towards his neck. It was blocked by another sword.   
Crono backed up a bit. This guy would be hard to beat. Crono assumed an attacking postion and charged   
forwards. He feinted a swing up, then at the last moment, swung it down hard at the man's leg, cutting it   
deeply. The man hardly seemed to notice. He smiled slightly, and swung his sword towards Crono's arm. It   
slashed across it, causing blood to leap from the wound at first, then steadily flow. Crono grimaced, but   
quickly blocked the next attack. He swung hard down towards the man's head. The man brought his sword   
up to block, but his sword shattered under the master craftsmanship of the Swallow. The shards rained   
down on his face, cutting him in many places. A sword slashing across his face followed the shards, and   
then he saw no more.  
  
Magnus did not notice that Crono had defeated his opponent, he was too busy fending off the leader. He   
dodged a right fist and brought his own right fist into the gut of the big man. The man grimaced a bit, but   
quickly kicked out Magnus' left leg, causing him to start to fall. Magnus quickly shifted his weight and   
landed on his palms, pushing up in a twist, executing a swift spin kick to the big mans face, causing blood   
to spurt from his nose. The man staggered back, and Magnus quickly followed up with a hard roundhouse   
to the side of the big man head, ending with a sickening crack. The man dropped to the ground, dead or   
knocked out, Magnus couldn't tell.  
  
Crono turned to face his unknown ally. He saw the blood on Magnus, but could see no visible wounds. He   
remembered his own, and quickly covered it up with his hand. It still did not stop bleeding.  
  
Magnus walked over to Crono and said, "Let me take a look at that." Crono lifted his hand from his wound   
and let Magnus look at it. "Let's see here. Looks like that guys blade cut pretty deep into your arm, but the   
bone looks fine." Magnus said as he ripped a part of his undershirt off at the sleeve in a strip. "I'm gonna   
tie this above the wound, it won't heal it, but it'll slow the bleeding down until I can get some first-aid   
stuff." He said as he tied the strip of cloth tightly around Crono's arm above the wound. Crono winced a bit   
when he tied it, but didn't complain.  
  
Suddenly, in the distance, sirens could be heard. Magnus snapped his head towards the opening of the alley   
and said as he rushed towards the exit, "Stay here, I'll be right back."  
  
Magnus reached the end of the alleyway and peaked around the corner. He saw a police car speeding   
towards the alley over the incline ahead of him. He also saw some people starting to walk warily towards   
the alleyway.  
  
'Crap!' Magnus thought to himself. He rushed back to Crono and the others.  
  
"OK, we're in trouble. Do you think you can run?" Magnus asked Crono.  
  
"I'll be fine. What do you mean we're in trouble?" Crono asked.  
  
"The cops are coming, and I'm pretty sure some dead guys lying around here and you with a sword aren't   
gonna play to well with--" Magnus was cut short as he heard screeching of tires outside the alleyway. "No   
time. Come on!" Magnus started off further down the alley, the others soon followed after.  
  
Crono ran behind Marle and Lucca, and the four soon came to a ladder leading up to a fire escape. Magnus   
motioned for them to climb up the ladder before him. Marle and Lucca went up first, followed by Crono,   
who was having trouble climbing. The three reached to top of the ladder and were on the first platform.   
They noticed that Magnus had yet to start climbing.   
  
"Keep going, I'll catch up!" Magnus yelled up after them.   
  
The three kept climbing, while Magnus turned around at the sound of a voice saying, "Freeze! Police! Get   
your hands in the air!"  
  
'Fat chance.' Magnus thought to himself. He picked up a trashcan and flung it towards the voice. A muffled   
yell could be heard than a crash. Magnus smiled, and started up the ladder.  
  
Back in the past….  
  
Charles looked around the room he had just entered, and he saw something sparkling in the middle of the   
floor. He walked up to it and found Marle's pendent. He picked it up, admiring its craftsmanship, and   
pocketed it, so as not to lose it. He turned around to find the man who had stole the pendent standing in the   
doorway.  
  
"So you found it, huh?" the man stated more than asked. "Well, I'm afraid that I can't let you leave this   
room just yet."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Charles demanded. "Who are you?"  
  
"You don't know me, but you will." The man said with a laugh. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm sure my   
friend can keep you busy for the time I need. And don't worry about the princess, she'll be fine. She's   
going with Crono and the others where they need to be."  
  
"What did you do to the princess?!" Charles yelled, but got no answer as the man walked out of the room.   
Charles was about to chase after him when he heard a growl.  
  
From the doorway came Charles could see an arm, than the body soon followed. It was a man with the head   
of a wolf.  
  
'No! A man-wolf! This could be trouble.' Charles thought to himself as the man-wolf came closer. Charles   
drew his word; it gleamed in the dim sunlight filtering through cracks in the roof and from the doorway.   
The man-wolf seemed to smile, and then it lunged at Charles.  
  
Back in the year 2001….  
  
Magnus had reached the end of the fire escape and climbed on to the roof of the building. Crono and the   
others were waiting for him.  
  
"OK, we should be OK for a bit, but just in case, I better…." Magnus trailed off as he turned back to the   
fire escape. He stated to kick at it, and the rusted hinges started to give. He gave it a final hard kick and the   
top part of it fell away from the building. Magnus turned back to the others with a smile.  
  
"Thanks for the help back there." Crono said suddenly. "But who are you?"  
  
"Name's Magnus." Magnus said, extending his hand.  
  
Crono shook his hand and said, "My name is Crono."  
  
"So that's your name, I was wondering that since that time." Magnus said under his breath.  
  
"What?" Crono asked.  
  
"Never mind. Who are your friends?" Magnus asked.  
  
"The blonde one is Marle, and she's Lucca." Crono said, pointed to the two as he said their names.  
  
"Pleased to meet you." Marle said.  
  
"Yeah, thanks for helping back there." Lucca said.  
  
"Well, I suppose we should get out of here. Come on, I'll take you to my place. It's the least I could do, I   
owe you." Magnus said, starting to walk to the entrance to the stairs. "Lucky my apartment's in this   
building."  
  
"What does he mean by 'I owe you'?" Lucca asked Crono in a whisper. Crono shrugged his shoulders and   
followed Magnus into the building. Marle and Lucca followed as well.  
  
Back with Charles….  
  
The man-wolf lunged at Charles. Charles quickly dodged to the left and swung his sword at it. The man-  
wolf leapt away in time to only get a small scrape from the sword. It leapt high in the air at Charles, landing   
on his chest and knocking him to the ground. Charles quickly grabbed its arms and held them back. It   
snarled and tried to bite his face with its jaws. Charles quickly moved his head out of the way and brought   
his knee up into the crotch of the beast. It howled and managed to rip away from Charles. Charles got up   
fast and charged forward with his sword drawn back. He cut at the man-wolf and the sword was embedded   
in the man-wolf's arm. The man-wolf howled in pain again and swung at Charles. Charles went flying back   
against the wall, grunting with pain as he hit the wall. Charles looked for his sword and realized that it was   
still hanging from the beast's arm. It looked at him in anger and charged. Charles grabbed a rock by his   
side and brought it up at the last moment to crack against the beast's head. It fell to the ground with a thud.   
Charles quickly retrieved his sword and poised it over the beast's heart.  
  
"May what ever lies beyond have mercy on you." He said through gritted teeth as he plunged the sword   
through the man-wolf's heart, killing it. Charles ripped his sword free of the beast's chest, wiping the blood   
on the thin clothing of it. He sheathed it and started to walk out of the room. He remembered what the man   
had said about the princess and sprang into a run out of the building. When he reached the exit, he saw that   
no one was there. "No!" he yelled.  
  
"Your too late Charles, and now I need you somewhere else." The man said behind Charles.  
  
"Your dead you bastard!" Charles yelled, charging towards the man.  
  
"Don't kid yourself, your not that powerful." The man said, raising his hand, casting out a blast of wind,   
which flung Charles against a wall, knocking him out. "Heh, now you will realize your full power, with my   
help of course." The man sad, picking up Charles with ease. He waved his hand and a gate appeared. He   
walked through, with Charles over his shoulder. Laughter could be heard as the gate closed.  
  
Back in 2001….  
  
"OK, this is my place. Just a sec." Magnus said as he brought out a key and unlocked the door. He stepped   
inside and said, "Crono, come here, you two can wait in the living room."  
  
Magnus and Crono walked into the kitchen, where Magnus took a case out of the cupboard. He took out a   
bottle and some long cloth.  
  
"OK, let me see that arm." Magnus said, taking Crono's arm. He took off the cloth and saw that the wound   
was still bleeding. "OK, I'm gonna put some stuff on it, it's gonna sting." Magnus said as he unscrewed the   
bottle, dumped some of the liquid inside on another cloth and pressed it to Crono's wound. Crono winced   
but did not show any other signs of pain. "That stuff's gonna clean your wound out." Magnus said,   
wrapping the long piece of cloth around Crono's wound. "Keep that on until I take it off, OK?" Magnus   
asked.  
  
"Sure." Crono replied.  
  
"Go sit down with the others, I'll be there in a sec, gotta change." Magnus said, walking into another room.  
  
Crono sat down next to Marle, and slung an arm around her. Lucca was siting across them in a chair.  
"OK lover boy, knock it off, we gotta find out what year we're in and how to get home." Lucca said with a   
grin.  
  
"Well, there's bound to be another gate somewhere, all we gotta do is go back to the End of Time and ask   
Gasper, and then we go home." Marle said, snuggling up to Crono.  
  
Crono smiled and said "Well, we need a fourth person to get us there, so we're stuck for here for awhile   
until we figure something out."  
  
"Well, we'll get some answer's out of Magnus we he comes back." Lucca said more to herself than anyone   
else.  
  
At that moment, Magnus walked back into the room. He had changed out of the clothes with blood on them   
into a flashy looking blue shirt with a figure on it multiple times that had three faces and some white pants.   
He sat down in a wooden chair and leaned back in it.  
  
"So Magnus, not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but why did you just help us out?" Crono said, cutting to   
the chase.  
  
"Thought you might ask that, and I suppose that you forgot you I am." Magnus said, "I helped you 'cause I   
owed you Crono, and I think Marle too. You guys saved my life when I was a kid."  
  
"Excuse me Magnus, but I think you might have us mistaken for someone else." Marle interjected.  
  
"Nope, I remember that night like it was yesterday. I saw Crono's red hair and his katana, and I knew it   
was you guys." Magnus said.  
  
"What happened?" Lucca asked, "That is if you don't mind telling us."  
  
"Sure, well what happened was…" Magnus said, beginning the story he had told his mother, the police, and   
the doctors that night.  
  
Back with Charles….  
  
Charles groaned in pain and started to open his eyes. He looked around and could only see three feet in   
front of him. It was then that he realized that he was chained up to the wall by his arms and legs.   
  
"Awake at last I see." A voice said from the darkness. "Good, I have something to tell you."  
  
"Who are you?" Charles asked into the darkness.  
  
"You would know me as the thief who stole the princesses pendent." The voice said.  
  
"You! Let me go and fight like a man!" Charles shouted to the darkness.  
  
"Didn't you learn from last time? You are no match for me as you are now." The voice said, "Perhaps if   
you saw who I was you would stop shouting." The voice said. A man stepped into the light. He was   
cloaked in black robes, covering all his skin. He pulled back his hood and it revealed a man with silver hair   
and gold eyes. He also had a scar on his face.  
  
"Why have you captured me?!" Charles demanded of the man.  
  
"You will find out in awhile. What I will tell you is that you are going to be my knight, and I'm going to   
train you towards your full potential." The man said. "Now, are you going to listen, or do I need to   
demonstrate who is in control?"  
  
Charles realized his only way to escape was to learn where he was and whom he was dealing with. He   
looked the man in the eyes and said, "Alright, I'm listening."  
  
"Good." The man said smiling. 'Good, the first crack in that thick armor of honor.' The man thought to   
himself.  
  



	4. Chapter Three A New Threat?

The One  
Chapter Three, A New Threat  
  
"And I woke up in the hospital with my mom sleeping in the chair next to my bed and a bandage over this." Magnus said, pointing to his scar.  
  
"I'm sorry I asked you about it. Must be painful to remember it." Lucca said.  
  
"Don't worry 'bout it, I mean, Crono and Marle should remember it pretty well. I just have one question for you guys. Do you know where the other man is who was with you? He left me wrapped in this shirt." Magnus asked.  
  
"Magnus, I'm telling you, I don't know when this happened, but I have never been here." Crono said.  
  
"Crono, I know what I saw, you had to have been..." Magnus was cut off by Marle's voice.  
  
"Crono, do you think this has something to do with... you know." Marle said in a hesitant tone.  
  
"Of course!" Lucca exclaimed. "Um, Magnus, this may sound hard to believe, but that was us who saved you and it wasn't us."  
  
"What do you mean?" Magnus asked, trying to figure out what they were talking about.  
  
"Well, to put it bluntly, we're from the past Magnus, and the ones who saved you were probably us from a future time." Lucca said, "I know it sounds ridicules, and a little confusing.  
  
"OK, you guys had your fun, quit kidding around." Magnus said, figuring they were just joking around.  
  
"No kidding Magnus. If what you say is true then I should be a lot older than I am now shouldn't I?" Crono asked.  
  
"Well, now that you mention it... what's going on here?" Magnus asked, now completely unsure of what was going on.  
  
"How's about we get something to eat and we'll try explaining it." Marle said.  
  
"OK, there's a McDonalds down the street, I ate breakfast there, and I want to know what you guys are talking about, with the time travel stuff." Magnus said with a confused voice.  
  
"We should probably try to find something else to wear." Marle said.  
  
"I got some coats in my bedroom." Magnus said.  
  
Crono, Marle, and Lucca quickly donned the coats, as to hide their clothes and Crono's katana. The four walked outside of the apartment, waiting a second for Magnus to lock it, then they headed outside. They walked past where their fight had happened and saw that a police line tape had been stretched across the opening of the alleyway and police were inside examining the fight scene. More were trying to keep back media and onlookers. They walked past as normally as possible and after a couple more minutes of walking arrived at the McDonalds. They walked inside and sat down.   
  
"I'll get the food. Be right back." Magnus said, walking towards the counter.  
  
"Well guys, I think we found our fourth person to travel to the end of time." Lucca said with a grin.  
  
"Are you sure we should take him?" Marle asked.  
"Well, it'll be an adventure for him for sure, and we get to go back home." Crono replied to Marle's question.  
  
"OK. It's agreed then, we take him there, then he can go back home and so can we." Lucca said as Magnus came back with the food.  
  
"Here ya go, I bought us all Big Mac meals, hope that's OK." Magnus said, sitting down and passing out the food.  
  
Crono bit into his burger without taking off the wrapper. He spit it out and said, "Gross, what is this? It tastes like paper!"  
  
"You gotta take the wrapper off first, then eat it." Magnus said with an amused look on his face.  
  
"OK, and stop grinning Lucca!" Crono said, staring angrily at Lucca.  
  
"I'm not the one who ate paper!" Lucca said with laughter.  
  
The four ate in silence for awhile, until Marle asked, "So, where do we find a gate?"  
  
"Well, it looks like we will have to look for a different one then the one we came out of, it's blocked off..." Lucca trailed off, realizing that they would have a long time to find one.  
  
"Before you all go off looking for a 'gate', can you tell what they are?" Magnus asked.  
  
"Well, I guess we should tell you the whole story then." Crono said, preparing to tell the long tale that had happened two years ago.  
  
Back with Charles and the unknown man....  
  
"Where should I start? I guess with what you should call me." The man said. "You can call me Kilborne."  
  
"Fine then, Kilborne, why have you brought me here and what have you done with the princess and the others?" Charles asked.  
  
"I already told you, to train you to your full potential. And the princess and the others are in a time where they have to be, for reasons you need not know for the moment." Kilborne said. "Now, for the rest of what I have to tell you, I shall release you from those chains." He said, waving his hand. The chains first turned rusty, then disintegrated. Charles floated for a bit, then was lowered to the ground.  
  
"How did you..." Charles question trailed off in amazement, his worry lost for the moment.  
  
'Another crack' Kilborne thought to himself. "Magic Charles, and you shall have it and more once I train you."  
  
"You keep saying that, but what if I don't want to?" Charles demanded.  
  
"You have no real choice, if you choose not too, you stay here, chained to the wall until you die. If you choose to train, you live forever." Kilborne said matter-of-factly.  
  
"That simple, huh?" Charles said, "Fine, I'll train, but you have to guarantee the princess and my friends safety."  
  
"Of course Charles, I give you my word, and my word is not given lightly." Kilborne said. 'And another.' Thought Kilborne.  
  
"Fine then." Charles said. 'Train a bit, then I can break free.' He thought to himself.  
  
'And another, the crack had become a hole in the armor. Little does the fool know that my powers allow me to sense his thoughts,' Kilborns thought to himself, 'and soon he will be mine!"  
  
Charles did not notice the look of triumph in Kilborne's eyes.  
  
"Now come Charles, my knight in training, you must be curious as of how I am going to train you further than your magnificent Guardia training." Kilborne said with a sarcastic laugh in his voice. Kilborne noticed the look of anger rushing into Charles eyes and quickly said, "Calm yourself, or you might find yourself back in chains."  
  
Charles looked behind him, and saw a skeleton hanging by its arms to the wall he had just being chained to. A shudder ran through his spine that did not go unnoticed by Kilborne.  
  
'Fear, that will guarantee his loyalty.' Kilborne thought to himself, then said aloud, "Come now, we wouldn't want you falling into the darkness now, would we."  
  
Charles then noticed that the lighted path he walking on was slowly disappearing. Not wanting to be left in the darkness, he walked after him. Kilborne smiled an evil grin. He had almost won.  
  
Back at McDonalds with Crono & friends..............  
  
"And that's what happened, up until we met up with you." Crono finished, glad to be done telling the story.  
  
"Amazing. I thought you guys were kidding around or crazy, but that story is too, well too real, to be a joke." Magnus said with amazement, his food forgotten and sitting on the table.  
  
"So you see why we could have saved you and not yet have saved, right." Lucca said.  
  
"Yeah, amazing...." Magnus trailed off.  
  
"So now we have to find a gate that still works." Marle said.  
  
"Well, that could be hard, it's a big world..." Magnus said, "And how would you know if it goes to your time?"  
  
"Well, that's were we where hoping you would come in. You see, like we said, more than three people in a gate would take you to The End of Time...." Crono said, hoping that Magnus would figure the rest out and agree to help them.  
  
"So you want me to help you guys out by going through the gate to the end of time place," Magnus said as Lucca nodded her head, "so you guys can find another gate to your time. But would I be able to get home by myself?"  
  
"Of course, we just let you go first, then we go home." Marle said.  
  
"So will you help us Magnus?" Crono asked.  
  
"Of course! This sounds like some fun shit, and I owe you guys." Magnus said with enthusiasm.  
  
"Great, but remember, we gotta find a gate first." Crono said.  
  
"Well, we could try to find the one in the alley, but we would have to wait a while, the cops won't open it back up for at least a week or so, and ever then we would have to be careful there, they'll be watching for people." Magnus said. "I just guess you guys will just have to stay with me 'till we can get back into the alley."  
  
"OK, sounds good." Crono said.  
  
The four remembered the food sitting on the table, and finished eating the cold burgers and fries. After eating, they got up from their table and walked outside.  
  
"We should avoid walking by the alley, someone might recognize us. Follow me." Magnus said, walking a different way then they had come from.  
  
Back with Charles.................  
  
Charles had been following Kilborne for about five minutes and he was wondering what the hell he was doing. Kilborne suddenly stopped and Charles almost bumped into him. At first he thought that Kilborne was shaking, but soon realized that he was laughing. Charles couldn't figure out what was so funny until Kilborne mumbled to himself, "Good, it's all going to plan."  
  
"What's going all to plan Kilborne?" Charles demanded.  
  
"You don't need to know that just yet Charles." Kilborne replied. "This is were you will sleep." Kilborne opened the door and Charles looked inside.  
  
Inside he saw a comfortable, big bed and a window overlooking a garden. It was the bedroom he had always wanted as a child and had pushed out of his mind when he had figured out that his family would never be able to afford. He walked into and said "Amazing. How did you know?"  
  
"I thought you would like it Charles. Get some sleep, we will begin tomorrow." Kilborne said, smiling.  
  
Charles walked further into the room and the door closed behind him. Kilborne waited outside the door, looking through it with his powers and he smiled a wicked grin again. 'He doesn't see through the illusion.  
Perfect, the fool is mine now.'  
  
What Kilborne saw, and what was really there, was a dirty cell with a hard plank of wood suspended by chains. Charles saw it different thanks to Kilborne's illusions. Kilborne laughed again. Everything was going exactly as it had gone every time and soon it would be finish as it always had. He disappeared without a notice to his own chambers. He had things to prepare.  
  
Back at Magnus' apartment..................  
  
"Well, Marle and Lucca can take my bed, Crono and me will take the living room." Magnus said.  
  
"Sure, sounds good, then Crono and Marle can't fool around." Lucca said laughing.  
  
"Shut up Lucca!" Marle yelled.  
  
"Damn. Are you sure I couldn't take the bed with Marle?" Crono asked with a laugh that was cut short as Malre punched him in the arm.  
  
"You shut up too!" Marle said with a red face.  
  
"Calm down guys, I'll be back in a bit, I gotta run out for a few hours. Stay inside. OK?" Magnus asked.  
  
"Sure." Lucca answered for the other two and herself.  
  
Magnus waved, opened the door and closed it behind him. Crono and his friends looked at each other, and they all wondered in their heads what they would do for a few hours to pass the time.  
  
Meanwhile, Magnus had exited his building and started to walk quickly the opposite way he had to McDonalds. He was going to visit his mother. He walked for about fifteen minutes and came into a residential area, and soon came across a faded yellow house. He opened the front gate, closing it behind him and walked up to the door. He knocked and waited.   
  
A couple of seconds an old voice asked through the door, "Who is it?"  
  
"It's me mom." Magnus answered. The door opening quickly and a small old woman stepping out to hug him.  
  
The hugged a bit and went inside. She led him to the living room and they sat down in two fluffy chairs. Magnus smiled and looked around, this would always be his true home.  
  
"So how have you been mom?" Magnus asked.  
  
"Fine, my old bones are aching a bit, but that's expected I guess." She replied.  
  
"I'm glad to hear your OK mom."  
  
"I'm glad you came over. I just baked some fresh cookies. They're your favorite. I had a feeling you would be coming over." She said, getting up to lead him to the kitchen.  
  
They both went into the kitchen and Magnus smiled, she still had that sixth sense all moms seemed to have about their children.   
  
"Thanks mom. You're the best." Magnus said, picking up a cookie and biting into it.  
  
"No problem dear. So what have you been up to lately?" She asked.  
  
"Well, that's what I came to see you about mom. I might be gone a long while, something happened and I need to see it through, in a sense." Magnus replied as they sat back down in the fluffy chairs in the living room they had walked to after getting the cookies.  
  
"Magnus, what happened?" she asked gravely.  
  
"I'm sorry mom, I've never kept anything from you, but I can't tell you. Please understand." Magnus pleaded.  
  
"I don't like it, but I understand." She said with understanding and worry in her voice.  
  
"I came by to see if you needed anything done before I left."  
  
"Well, I need some groceries but that should be it." She said.  
  
"Of course, anything for my favorite mother." Magnus said.  
  
"I'm your only mom dear." She said, playing the little games they had shared since Magnus had been a little child.  
  
"Shall we be off to the market mom?" Magnus asked.  
  
"Let me get my jacket and then we can go." She said. She smiled, she was so proud of the fine man her son had become, she always had been.  
Back at Magnus' apartment..........  
  
"So what should we do until he comes back?" Lucca asked again.  
  
"Well, I'm gonna get some sleep, I'm pretty tired." Marle said as she rose out of her chair and walked towards the bedroom. She entered it and a gasp was heard from within the room.  
  
"Marle! What is it?" Crono asked with concern as he rushed in after her.  
  
"Look at the wall!" Marle exclaimed, pointing to the wall left of the single window.  
  
On the wall hang various medals, trophies, and pictures. And in between them all was an awesome looking katana. Lined up against the wall was a stack of four wooden practice katana.  
  
"Whoa!" Crono said through a deep breath. "Amazing looking katana, he must be good. Look at all those things on the wall. They gotta be prizes of some kind."   
  
"Looks like he's better than you Crono!" Lucca teased, finally entering the room after them.  
  
"No one's better than me!" Crono joked back, "But man, Magnus must be good."  
  
"Well, we shouldn't mess with his stuff. Let's go back in the living room. I don't think I could sleep with all the shiny things shining in my face." Marle said, walking out of the room.  
  
The three friends all sat back down in chairs and looked at each other. They were all curious as to how good Magnus was with his katana, but on the other hand, they were all still bored out of their minds.  
  
Back at Magnus' mother's house.......  
  
"Well, I gotta go mom. I'll come visit you as soon as I come back, I promise." Magnus said, reluctant to leave his mother alone for any amount of time.  
  
"Don't worry about me. I managed to survive this long, I can probably outlive you!" His mother joked, although she knew he feared the day when she would die and leave him alone.  
  
"Every since dad died when I was a kid, I worry...." Magnus trailed off.  
  
"I said don't worry! I'll be fine. Now go along, you'll miss whatever you're going to use to get where your going." She said, shooing him out the door, tears in her eyes, knowing that she didn't want him to go, but that she couldn't stop or that she would even try to stop him.  
  
"Alright mom. I'll see you soon." He said, kissing her on the cheek and turning around to walk swiftly back home, his eyes also tearing up a bit from the love he got from his mother, and how he felt like he could never repay her for all her patience and unconditional love.   
  
His mother walked back into her house and saw an envelope sitting on her table. On it was printed the words "Take care mom." She opened it and she saw several hundred-dollar bills in it. She started to cry as she put it on the table. 'How did he grow up to be who he is in this day and age.' She thought to herself.  
  
Magnus walked back home slower than usual, but soon arrived back in front of his building. He looked up at his window and realized that the sun was starting to set. He didn't want to be on the streets at night in this neighborhood so he hurried inside and quickly opened up the tenant's door with his key. He walked up the stairs and walked up to his door. He opened it and saw that Marle and Lucca had fallen asleep in their chairs and Crono was staring out the window at the sunset.  
  
"Nice view from up here, isn't Crono." Magnus said, softly as to not disturb the two sleeping women.  
  
"Yeah, it's breath-taking." Crono exclaimed. "Can I ask ya something?"  
  
"Sure." Magnus replied.  
  
"Are you any good with that katana in your room or is just for show?" Crono asked pointing towards the bedroom.  
  
"Well, I guess people would call me 'excellent' and 'exceptional', but I just like the katana, every since I saw you use it." Magnus said, looking at the room.  
  
"Hmmm... well, I guess you would like this then." Crono replied. He walked over to the table where he had lain the Swallow. He handed it over to Magnus and said, "Nice sword, isn't it."  
  
Magnus took it and swung it a few times, feeling the expert craftsmanship of it and the way it felt so light and agile, and said, "Amazing, this katana is the most beautiful weapon I have ever seen."  
  
"Yeah, that guy we told you about, Melchior, made it and another that's at my house. The other one is called the Rainbow and it's ten times better than this one." Crono said.  
  
"Incredible, I need to meet this man...." Magnus trailed of, imaging what this Melchior could make for him.  
  
Magnus handed the Swallow back to Crono and he laid it back on the table.  
  
"Well, I'm getting pretty tired here." Crono said with a yawn.  
  
"We better put those two in the bed." Magnus said, picking up Lucca with no effort. Crono picked up Marle.  
  
They put the two women in the bed and threw a blanket over top of them. The two men then walked out to the living room.  
  
"Take the couch, I'll take this chair." Magnus said, motioning towards the couch for Crono to sleep on.  
  
"Thanks." Crono replied.  
  
Crono laid down on the couch and almost instantly fell asleep. Magnus sat down in his chair but could not get to sleep. He had too many thoughts in his mind, and with those thoughts came memories, bad memories. He realized that he would never get to sleep with the memories in his head. He knew how to get the out of his head. He stood up and went into his room. Careful not to disturb the two sleeping women, he grabbed two wooden katana and headed out of his apartment to the roof.  



	5. Chapter Four Blades and Blood

The One  
Chapter Four, Blades and Blood  
  
Magnus walked silently to the roof of his building. He needed to clear his heads of the painful memories   
that his past had. They always came at the worst times, and the only way Magnus was able to forget them   
for awhile was to either drink or practice his katana skills. Since he had no booze he would practice his   
katana.  
  
"Dammit. Why won't these memories leave me alone." Magnus mumbled to himself as he opened the door   
to the roof. He stepped out into the night and stood near the edge of the building. "Good, the air is clear   
tonight." He said to himself, walking back to the door and propping one of the katana against the wall. He   
might break his first one, then he would need the second one.  
  
He walked to the center of the roof and went into an attack position. He stayed there for a bit, just staring   
off into space, then suddenly he exploded forward into the sir, slashing, thrusting and parrying against an   
imaginary opponent. He jumped up and ducked down, springing up with a quick, graceful, upward slash.   
He rolled left, then right, then stopped for a second catching his breath. Then he did a quick back flip   
landing with his sword in a blocking position in front of him. He was breathing harder than normal, but not   
as hard as he would when he was finished. He breathed in sharply and then pivoted quickly to his left and   
slashed downward then pivoted right and swung upward. He dropped from his position and walked towards   
a wooden pole that came out of his building and connected the phone lines to the building. He always used   
it as a dummy. He went up to it and started to circle around it. He slashed a quick cut at it from the left,   
then another to the right. He hacked at it quickly and gracefully for another five minutes, not stopping once   
for a break. He finally stopped when the wooden katana broke in two from the constant abuse. He looked at   
it dumbly for a second, then he smiled. Pretty soon he would need to buy more. He heard a crash of a   
broken window and realized that the top of the wooden katana had broken off and flung itself into   
someone's window. He stole a quick glance at it as a light snapped on in the window.  
  
Someone shouted from the room, "What the fuck!"  
  
Magnus quickly crouched down and ran back to the stairs. "Shit!" he exclaimed under his breath with a   
laugh. He quickly grabbed his other wooden katana and ran down the stairs, slowing to a walk when he   
reached his floor. He opened to door and locked it behind him. He went over to his chair, laid the wooden   
katana at its side and sat down in the chair. He fell asleep almost at once. He had managed to forget the part   
of his past that was bothering him for another night.  
  
Back with Charles……  
  
Charles awoke with a start. He almost leaped out of his bed. For a moment he saw dark brick walls, then it   
went back to the way it had been. White walls. He breathed a sigh of relief. Then he remebered that he had   
to escape from wherever he was and rescue the princess.  
  
"But…why would I want to leave this place. It's so peaceful and quiet. Just like I like it." He said to   
himself. "This Kilborne can't be that bad. I mean, look at this room. I'm sure the princess is fine. She must   
be. I don't want to leave here."  
  
Charles lay back down and closed his eyes. He felt at peace and calm. He was safe and so were the princess   
and the others. Kilborne was a kind person and was just going to train him to be a better knight. Without   
thinking about it, he grasped the princess' pendent he had found in the ruins. It glowed softly for a second,   
then faded to a darker shade of blue. Charles fell asleep.  
  
Although Charles did not know it, Kilborne was watching him from a dark room. Kilborne's eyes were   
closed but he saw Charles room in his mind. He smiled. The fool was his. 'Perfect,' he thought to himself.   
'He is mine now. The pendent will continue to darken as his soul does. When it is black, he will not escape   
the darkness. He will be my knight.' Kilborne started to laugh. It was an evil, cruel laugh. Charles heard it,   
and he frowned, then rolled over in his sleep.  
  
Back in Magnus' Apartment……  
  
Magnus was the first to awaken even though he was the last to go to sleep. He awoke at eight in the   
morning, they time he always awoke. He looked at his sleeping friend on the couch and decided that he   
would go get them something to eat. He stood up and went to his room. He got a change of clothes from his   
dresser and went into the bathroom to change. He came out with his shirt with the three-headed idol and   
white pants. He brushed his hand through his short blonde hair to un-mess it, then pulled on his shoes. He   
opened the door, closed it behind him and locked it. He then walked downstairs and out into the street.  
  
"Back to McDonalds I guess. Breakfast food here I come." He mumbled to himself and walked towards the   
familiar golden arches.  
  
Magnus walked briskly towards McDonalds, and when he got there, he noticed that he would have to wait   
a few minutes for it to open. He leaned up against the glass wall and waited. He glanced at his watch and   
saw that the time was 8:15pm. He would have to wait another fifteen minutes. He looked around lazily and   
saw some movement in the alley across the street from him. He looked again but there was nothing. He was   
just starting to look away when he caught movement in the corner of his eye. Someone was hiding from   
him. He started to walk slowly towards the alley. He stared straight-ahead keeping his eyes fixed on the   
alley looking for movement again. He reached the entrance to the alley and he peered into the darkness. All   
he could see was black but slowly it faded to a gray and he saw a man with black hair and piercing green   
eyes standing against the left wall. He was looking Magnus in the eye, and then he spoke.  
  
"Master, you can use this." The strange man said with no emotion in his voice. The man's eyes seemed to   
darken and he said, "Use it!"  
  
"Who the hell are you?" Magnus demanded of the stranger.  
  
The man said nothing, but ran up to a blue circle in the middle of the alley and it expanded. A cool wind   
blew towards Magnus as the man stepped into the enlarged circle and it closed after him, leaving a small   
blue circle. Magnus gaped at what he saw, but soon recovered as he realized that what had happened   
sounded like what Crono and the others had described as gates. He realized that this was what they were   
looking for. He quickly turned around and ran back to his apartment, completely forgetting about the man   
and what he had said. All that was on his mind was that he had found a way for his friends to get home.  
  
As Magnus ran to his apartment, Kilborne sat in his study. He smiled. Everything was going perfect.   
'Soon.' He thought, 'Very soon.'  
  
Magnus rushed up the stairs to his apartment and quickly unlocked and opened the door. He rushed over to   
Crono and shook him.  
  
"Crono. Crono! Wake up!" Magnus yelled at Crono. "Dammit! Get your ass up!"  
  
Crono muttered something under his breath and slowly opened his eyes. "What?"   
  
"I found one!" Magnus exclaimed excitedly.  
  
"Found what? Couldn't this have waited until later?" Crono said, preparing to fall back asleep.  
  
"A gate!"  
  
Crono's eyes shot open. "A what?!"  
  
"A gate! Just across the street from McDonalds." Magnus said.  
Crono got up off the couch and quickly threw on his tunic. "We better get the girls up." He said, heading   
into the bedroom.  
  
Crono went up to Lucca and gave her a quick shake. She woke up almost at once. Before she could say   
anything, Crono was shaking Marle awake.  
  
Marle opened her eyes and said, "What?"  
  
"Come on you guys! Magnus found a gate! Get up!" Crono shouted.  
  
Marle, realizing that she was half-naked and Crono was standing right next to her, blushed and yelled, "Get   
out! Let us get dressed first!"  
  
Crono rolled his eyes and walked out of the room. He would never understand women. Marle and Lucca   
quickly dressed and walked into the living room.  
  
"So what were you saying before Marle screamed?" Lucca asked.  
  
"What I was saying was that Magnus found a gate!" Crono exclaimed before Marle jumped on him and   
knocked him to the ground.  
  
"A gate! Really! So we can go home!" Marle exclaimed, but turned beet red when she noticed the position   
she was in with Crono. She got off him and mumbled, "Sorry 'bout that."  
  
"Well, we should head over to the gate if you guys wanna get home so bad." Magnus said with enthusiasm,   
even though he was going to lose his newfound friends.  
  
"We should hurry you guys, we never know when this gate could collapse like the others." Lucca said.  
  
Crono nodded. They all knew that the gates had slowly begun to collapse in on themselves after the defeat   
of Lavos. Crono walked over to the table and picked up his katana. He clipped it back on his belt and   
looked over to others.  
  
"Ready?" he asked.  
  
"Come on. I'll show you guys the way." Magnus said as he started to walk out of the apartment. He locked   
the door after they were out of the room.  
  
The four headed back out of the apartment and down the steps to the main door of the building. As they   
were heading out the door Marle stopped and asked, "Magnus, won't we look suspicious?"   
  
"Nope, it's early in the morning. All the kooks come out then." Magnus said with a smile.  
  
"Kooks?" Marle asked.  
  
"Never mind."  
  
Magnus opened the door and stepped into the street. He looked around just to be safe. 'Never can be to   
careful.' He thought to himself.  
  
He held the door open for the others and let it slam shut when they were all out in the street. "This way   
guys." Magnus said, taking the lead.  
  
The four friends walked in a strange silence compared to how excited they were before in the apartment.   
Crono kept finding himself shifting his eyes left and right to look for trouble as he was accustomed too. As   
Marle walked alongside Crono she couldn't shake off a sense of unease that come over her. She reached up   
to touch her pendent as she always did when she was worried but remembered that they had not found it.   
This only helped to increase her uneasiness. She looked over to Lucca who was looking around left and   
right in amazement at the buildings and cars parked in the street. Lucca never seemed to lose her inquisitive   
nature and the technology that she kept seeing only served to make her more curious. Marle shook her head   
slightly and told herself that she was being silly. 'Everyone else is fine. Be happy dammit.' She thought to   
herself as she forced a smile.  
  
"There's the alley." Magnus said as he pointed to where he had found the gate. As he approached the alley   
though he kept felt like he was forgetting something, but told himself it was just nerves. "You got that Gate   
Key thing Lucca?"  
  
"Yeah. Just a sec." Lucca said as she rummaged around in her pockets and then took it out.  
  
They went into the alley and walked towards the small blue circle. Lucca stepped in front of Magnus and   
held the Gate Key up to the gate. She pushed a button on it and the blue circle started to expand and cool   
wind began to blow from it. Crono's eyes lit up like a child's at Christmas at the sight of the gate. He loved   
to travel through the gates.  
  
"See ya guys at the other side." Lucca said stepping into the gate.  
  
Crono and Marle followed her silently almost side by side.  
  
Magnus looked into the Gate and shrugged his shoulders. "Belly up to the bar." He said as he stepped in   
after his friends.  
  
In an unknown place…….  
  
Benjamin Arrnet was an impressive looking man. Tall, fit, long black hair, and green eyes. Women would   
call him handsome, but he took little notice to anything but what he was told to do by his superiors. He sat   
waiting in a chair of excellent quality and ran his fingers through his hair several times.  
  
'Where the hell is that bastard.' He thought to himself. 'He's late again.' Kill him. 'No, he's the best spy I   
have.' Gut the whore sons fucking stomach. 'I said NO!' Kill him, kill him, kill him, kill him.  
  
The chant continued inside of Benjamin's head endlessly. He grasped his head and started to moan as he   
rocked back and forth.  
  
"No, no, no, no, no. Get out of my head. GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Benjamin screamed as he jumped to   
his feet. He stood there grasping his head until he heard a voice at the door.  
  
"Master?" a timid girl said as she peeked in the door of the room. "Are you alright? I heard a scream."  
  
Benjamin stared at the girl until she bowed her head and started to walk out of the room. "Wait! Come   
here." He said in a strained voice.   
  
The girl walked slowly towards him and stopped a few feet away from him.  
  
"What is your name girl?"  
  
"Andrea, sir." She said with fear in her voice.  
  
Kill. Benjamin slowly drew his sword. Kill. He held it at his side. Kill. "Well Andrea." Kill. "Thank you for   
your concern." Kill. "I should reward you." Kill! "Yes, a reward for my servant." Kill! "Look up Andrea."   
Kill! Andrea looked up and saw the sword. She started to cry. "Such a good girl." Kill! Benjamin raised his   
sword above his head. His green eyes dark and cold. KILL! Benjamin swung the sword down through   
Andrea's neck and then up across her chest. She fell against the floor; her blood staining the carpet she fell   
on. Her head rolled next to her body. Benjamin looked at the body and began to giggle. He dropped his   
sword to the ground and covered his mouth. He started to laugh deep in his throat. Then he threw back his   
head and roared with laughter. He fell back into his chair and laughed. The laughter stopped abruptly and   
he looked down at the body.  
  
'Shame she had to die. She seemed like a good servant.' He thought to himself. 'But everyone dies.' Yes,   
everyone does die. And they shall soon. Benjamin shook his head and yelled out, "Come clean this up!"  
  
Two men ran in and picked up the body of the dead girl with looks of disgust and sadness. They quickly   
carried her out and a woman came in a started to scrub the blood out of the carpet. She had just begun to   
clean it up when Benjamin said, "Leave it." The woman got up and exited the room as fast as she could   
without running. She knew better than to anger the master.  
  
Benjamin looked down at his feet and saw the sword he had dropped. He bent over and picked it up. He   
looked at it for awhile and marveled at the way the blood seemed to make designs on the blade. He put it   
against his chair, not bothering to wipe it off, and continued to wait. 'He better hurry up. I'm starting to get   
impatient.'  
  
Back with Charles…….  
  
Charles woke up with a start. He looked around in confusion for a second before remembering where he   
was. Memories flooded back into his mind as they always seemed to do when he woke up. He had been   
with Kilborne training for such a long time that the days had seemed to meld together and lose shape. He   
got out of his bed and dressed in his training fatigues as he did every morning. He went out of his room to   
go get his breakfast before training.  
  
Kilborne watched Charles from his chambers as he always did when not in person with him. He sat in front   
what appeared to be a pool of water at a glance. If one looked closer they would see an image in it, the   
image of Charles eating. Kilborne sat in darkness watching until Charles stood up and proceeded to walk   
where he trained. He waved his hand past the pool of liquid and the image faded. The liquid itself turned   
black and then seemed to change into stone. Kilborne stood up himself and disappeared, only to reappear in   
the room where Charles trained. Charles soon entered the room and bowed low in front of him and then   
stood back up.  
  
"Prepare yourself Charles." Kilborne said as he stepped to the side. He waved his hand slightly and a gate   
opened across the room.  
  
Charles stared with detached emotion as three men dressed in light leather armour walked into the room   
from the opening that had just opened up. They stood about ten feet away from Charles and waited.  
  
Kilborne looked at Charles and then nodded to the three men waiting in the center of the room. They   
unsheathed short swords and one man started to advance on Charles. Charles seemed uninterested in them   
and continued to stand in the same position. The attacker started to run towards Charles with his sword   
raised, intending to separate Charles' head from his body. As he swung his sword down Charles' hand   
sprang up and easily caught his wrist, the blade of the short sword stopped pointing towards the ceiling.   
Charles looked the man in the eye, clenched his other hand into a fist, drew his arm back, and firmly   
planted it into the man's sternum. A gasp of air rushed from the man's lungs as he was winded. Charles   
twisted the sword around so it was facing his attacker and plunged it into his stomach. Blood bubbled out   
of his mouth as Charles slid the sword out of him. The man slumped to the floor. Charles looked at the   
other two men and waited. The one on the left of Charles seemed to have lost his nerve, and began to shake   
with fear. The one on the right gaped at Charles in shock and surprise, but quickly reclaimed his   
composure. He clenched his teeth and prepared himself to attack. Charles continued to wait in what seemed   
to be a passive stance and waited for the attack. The man seemed to clench his teeth further and burst forth   
in a full tilt run at Charles, hoping to catch him off guard. As the man charged him, Charles dropped to one   
knee and swung his sword at the attackers mid-section. Blood leapt from the nameless man's stomach and   
splattered onto the last man's face. The now dead man fell to the floor, blood pooling around him. Charles   
once again stood up and faced the last man. The man was shaking uncontrollably and whispering to   
himself.  
  
"Daemon. A Daemon." Spilled out of the man's mouth repeatedly.  
  
Charles now took to the offensive, seeing that the fear stricken man would not attack him. Charles blade cut   
cleanly through the petrified man's side and then sliced through his right thigh, severing the limb. The man   
fell forward screaming to his god to deliver him. Charles swiftly plunged his sword through the back of the   
man's neck and twisted the blade a half-turn, stopping the man's plea's forever. Charles let go of the sword   
and faced Kilborne. He bowed deeply again and stood in a puddle his opponents blood, waiting for   
Kilborne to tell him what to do next. The silvered hair man looked back at Charles with what could best be   
described as a sick version of pride in what he had just saw.  
  
"You may leave. Go to your quarters." Kilborne said with a wave of his hand  
  
Charles bowed again and left the room. Kilborne walked to the corpses of the former warriors and picked   
up the sword that Charles had wielded. He looked at it for a moment then dropped it back onto the floor. He   
waved his hand again and the bodies began to arrange themselves in a row in front of Kilborne.  
  
'More and more he becomes a ruthless killer.' Kilborne thought, 'My ruthless killer.'  



	6. Chapter Five Exradis

The One  
Chapter Five, Exradis  
  
Magnus broke out in goose bumps as cool wind rushed against his arms and other exposed areas of his   
skin. Deep shades of purple and blue rushed past him and he could see Crono and the others ahead of him.   
As they traveled further along through the tunnel of time Magnus spotted an opening ahead and tried to ask   
what it was, only to have the words wiped away from his mouth and shot behind him by the rushing wind.   
He suddenly felt a longing for the ride to continue. Despite a strong pulling sensation towards the opening,   
he felt great. Adrenaline pumped threw his being as he realized that he was one of the few people ever to   
travel through time. He loved it. As he looked ahead, Crono and the others were sucked out of the tunnel   
and out of his sight. Instinctual fear went down Magnus' spine as he drew closer to where the others had   
been sucked through. He felt a strong pull and he found himself falling a very short distance onto Crono.  
  
"Get off!" Crono exclaimed through clenched breaths. "I can't breath."  
  
Magnus quickly rolled off Crono and stood up and said, "Shit! What a rush!"  
  
"Tell me about it. I love going through those things." Crono said with enthusiasm as he picked himself up.  
  
Magnus looked around at his surroundings. They were standing on a wooden deck that seemed to be   
floating in an abyss of murky darkness. Light shone from a lamppost in another room enough to let him see   
the door, but what really lit up the room they were standing in were five pillars of light. Magnus stared in   
wonderment of the beauty of the pillars for a few seconds.  
  
Lucca, noticing Magnus' gaze said, "Pretty, aren't they? They connect the time periods to here. The one we   
came out of is that one," Lucca indicated with a finger pointing to the one closest to Magnus, "and the one   
next to it is where the gate would have taken us had there only been three of us."  
  
Magnus nodded his understanding and said, "Which one's gonna take you back to your time?"  
  
"Gasper should know that." Marle said. "He's over there." Marle pointed to where the lamppost shined.  
  
The four friends walked towards the door to the next room. Crono opened and held it for everyone to pass   
through. Magnus followed Marle and Lucca towards an old man in a long coat leaning against the   
lamppost. Marle tapped him on the shoulder a couple of times, which popped a snot bubble coming out of   
the old man's nose as he woke with a start.  
  
He looked at them in surprise and said, "Well hello. I didn't expect you guys to be coming back here again.   
Is there still a few gates active?"  
  
"Seems like it. There's still five pillars left over there. I think two more opened from the Gate we just came   
through." Lucca said pointing towards the pillars of light.  
  
"Hmmm… I didn't think that there would have being anymore Gates open besides the ones that connected   
the last three pillars." Gasper said with a frown.  
  
"Yeah, I know. I thought after Lavos was killed that they started to close because his energy wasn't present   
anymore to keep them open. But the fact that we found two separate new Gates tends to disprove that."   
Lucca said.  
  
"Two? But that would suggest that another being is opening them." Gasper said with interest. He hadn't   
been able to have a good conversation about time travel in awhile, and Lucca was one of the best to talk   
with about it.  
  
"I was thinking that too. From what I can figure, there are two main possibilities.  
Lucca was about to launch into her theories when Marle coughed to get her attention. Lucca looked back at   
her and Marle pointed to Magnus.  
  
"Oh yeah! Magnus, this is Gasper, the guy we told you about. Gasper, this is Magnus, the guy we got to   
come with us so we could end up here." Lucca said making the introductions.  
  
"A new one, huh. Why don't you guys take him to the next room." Gasper said. "He should like it."  
  
"Sure, come on Magnus." Crono said, walking to another room behind Gasper.  
  
"Coming." Magnus said as he walked after Crono.  
  
"I'll come too." Marle said with her usual enthusiasm.  
  
Lucca turned back to Gasper and said, "Were was I? Oh yeah! My theories on why the Gates opened."  
  
As Lucca and Gasper began discussing the Gates and time travel in general the others had walked into the   
next room. Magnus walked in after Crono and saw a huge blue creature standing in the center of the room,   
which he gazed up at in a mixture of awe and uneasiness.  
  
"Who's that?" Magnus asked.  
  
"I'm the Master of War, Spekkio!" the creature boomed. "And whom might you be?"  
  
"My name's Magnus." Replied Magnus.  
  
"Magnus, huh. Since the old man let you through that's must mean you have potential." Spekkio said.   
"Let's see."  
  
"Potential?" Magnus asked more in a whisper than a question.  
  
Spekkio seemed to concentrate as he looked at Magnus and than said, "Well, this is interesting. Your   
potential is something I haven't seen in a long time…not since back home."  
  
"Spekkio? Are you OK?" Crono asked, noticing that Spekkio had closed his eyes and seemed to be in a sort   
of dream-like trance.  
  
Spekkio opened his eyes suddenly and said, "I'm fine. Magnus it seems that you're a special case. You   
have 'The Exradis'."  
  
"What's Exradis?" Marle asked, unsure of what Spekkio was talking about.  
  
"Exradis is, or in a better phrase, was an ancient magic used by a race of beings that disappeared aeons ago.   
Funny it would show up now…" Spekkio said, trailing off. "Well, no matter. I'll bring out that power   
now."  
  
Spekkio pointed one of his large blue hands out at Magnus and began to glow softly. After the glow had   
surrounded Spekkio's body, it began to move to his out stretched hand, and then into a soft beam of light at   
Magnus' body. It came in contact with his body and quickly enveloped around him. As soon as it had   
covered his body, its soft light intensified brightly, then seemed to absorb itself into his being. Magnus felt   
an extreme flash of energy in his body and his senses seemed to heighten tenfold and he smelt the distinct   
smell of ozone, but the sensation soon left him and left him only with memory of it.  
  
"Whoa. What the hell was that?" Magnus asked in a shaky voice.  
  
"That was magic Magnus." Marle said matter-of-factly. "But Spekkio, you didn't really explain what   
Exradis is."  
  
"Well, let me put it this way. Exradis was, like I said, an ancient form of magic used by a race of beings   
who lived on another planet in a near-by galaxy." Spekkio said as he looked down at the three. He saw a   
look of confusion worn by Crono and Marle and quickly added, "A galaxy is a group of planets with a star   
they rotate around. The rest of its space is usually empty." He mentally hoped to himself that it was simple   
enough for them to understand and was relived when the confusion was replaced with a looked of semi-  
understanding. "Well, these beings used Exradis in many ways. Exradis is a generalization of what they   
could use the magic for. Exradis would translate into English loosely as Enhance of Self. It would allow   
them to, in plain terms, enhance themselves for a short period of time. They could use it to enhance their   
senses, their strength, and their speed. Almost everything would become better. But it also did other things.   
In some of them they could, as they said, 'hear the planet scream'. In other words, they could hear the   
essence of the planet when it was in danger. Like when Lavos landed and burrowed into the Earth. If it had   
been on their planet, a few of them would have heard a loud, piercing scream shoot through their minds. In   
others, it allowed them to use many different kinds of magic at the same time. Like casting a fire and ice   
spell together to form a spell similar to Marle and Lucca's Antipode, only with one person casting it."   
Marle looked as if she would say something, but decided to let Spekkio continue. "That wasn't the limit to   
Exradis' power, but to explain it all would take days, and I'm sure that Magnus can figure it out on his   
own."  
  
"On my own, huh. Well, I guess I could practice it in the country or something when I get back home."   
Magnus said, obviously recovering from having his power awakened in him. "But why would this power   
surface in me now. You said this race disappeared a long time ago."  
  
"Well, I did say they vanished eons ago, so I can't explain why Exradis would pop up now, but I wouldn't   
worry to much. It must have surfaced when the rest of the magic on this planet did. It probably just stayed   
dormant until now." Spekkio said, even though he wasn't sure himself. "In any case, you're fortified with   
magic. Wanna try it out?"  
  
"I guess so, but…how do I, you know, cast a spell?" Magnus asked, still unsure about the powers that were   
supposed to be within him.  
  
"Well, with the most basic skill of Exradis is accessed by the user when he or she speaks the word   
'Ancrasda'. More advanced skills will come to you in time. You'll just know how to do them." Spekkio   
said.  
  
"OK, gotcha. Let's go." Magnus said, assuming a fighting stance with his legs spread slightly more than   
shoulder length and his fists held up in front of him, ready to strike. Marle stood back a bit and began to   
ready herself for a spell, as did Crono.  
  
"Have at you!" Spekkio yelled, delighted to have someone to fight against.  
  
"Ancrasda!" Magnus yelled aloud, and instantly he felt his senses heighten, his speed quicken, and his   
strength increase.  
  
Spekkio clapped his hands together and a bolt of lighting streaked down towards Magnus. Magnus quickly   
rolled to the side as the bolt struck where he had moments ago been standing. Magnus quickly jumped out   
of the roll and ran behind Spekkio and executed a jump kick to his back. Normally, it would have been too   
slow, but with Magnus' enhanced abilities it connected and knocked him off his feet onto his back. As he   
hit the ground, Marle finished her preparing her spell. She pushed out her hands and the air in the small   
room dropped significantly in temperature. A huge chunk of ice began to fall rapidly towards Spekkio. It   
slammed into his body and disappeared, only to have another one slam into his body again. It too   
disappeared. Spekkio began to breathe harder and sweat broke out on his brow as he got up. The kick to his   
back had hurt him more than he thought it would, and the ice falling on him hadn't helped either. He began   
to cast another spell, but was interrupted when a high pitched sound cut through the room like a knife.   
Crono began to levitate into the air with his arms outstretched. Green beams of light appeared underneath   
Spekkio and he knew he was in for a lot of hurt. The green lights intensified and then a green dome erected   
itself over top of Spekkio. The noise was unbearable inside of the dome, and bolts of lightning struck him   
repeatedly. The dome began to dissipate outwards as Luminare finished. Spekkio stood for a few seconds,   
then collapsed in a smoking pile. Magnus looked on in shock as Crono and Marle just stood where they   
were standing.  
  
"Aren't you guys gonna help him? I think we really hurt him!" Magnus exclaimed fearfully.  
  
"He'll be fine in a sec. Just wait." Marle said patiently.  
  
Magnus just looked at them in confusion but soon his confusion turned to surprise as the burn marks and   
bleeding that had appeared on Spekkio's blue skin began to heal themselves. In a matter of seconds,   
Spekkio looked as if he had never been hurt and slowly stood up.  
  
"I guess you guys won. But don't let it get to your heads! I'm still the Master of War!" Spekkio shouted.  
  
Magnus gaped in surprise and then his face broke out into a grin. "Why you little bastard. You can heal   
yourself even if you get the crap beat out of you so bad your smoking."  
  
"Of course I can. I mean, if I died, who would be the Master of War?" Spekkio stated more than asked.   
'Goddammit my ribs hurt. That damned kick broke a couple of them. Can't let them see it though." Spekkio   
thought to himself. "I'll see you guys later. I got, umm…stuff to do."  
  
"See ya Spekkio!" Marle said in her usual cheery voice.  
  
"Yeah, see ya." Crono said, still amazed despite himself at how fast Magnus had been able to move during   
the fight.  
  
"Later Spekkio. And thanks." Magnus said as he began to walk after Crono and Marle.  
  
Spekkio's form flashed and began to shrink. In almost an instant, his form was that of a kiwala. He ran up   
to Magnus and grabbed his arm.  
  
"What the…? Oh, Spekkio. What is it?" Magnus asked, a bit taken back by the cute appearance of the once   
emposing figure.  
  
"I don't know why, but…be careful Magnus. That power of yours could do a lot of good, but it could also   
do a lot of bad." Spekkio said. "Just be careful OK? Now scram!"  
  
Magnus looked at him for a second and shrugged his shoulders. 'Guess the Master of War is entitled to a   
little strangeness.' He thought to himself. "Sure Spekkio. I'll be careful." He said to the little creature   
walking back to the center of the room.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Just get outta here."  
  
Magnus smiled and walked out of the room. 'What a day.' He thought. 'I go through time, meet some shape   
changer, and get some sort of power.'  
  
As Magnus walked into Gasper's room, he saw Lucca talking excitedly to the others. His curiosity peeked a   
bit and he put Spekkio's strange warning out of his head. There would be time to consider it later.  
  
"Hey Magnus! Have I got something to tell you!" Lucca practically yelled. "Get your arse over here!"  
  
  
Author's Note  
  
Hey everybody who bothered to read this far into this story.  
  
Well, it's been awhile since I wrote. Damned school and such. Plus writers block. But, I think I'm over that   
and you can be expecting a lot more chapters.   
  
My brothers and others have been telling me I'm getting better at writing, but I want, no, NEED, your   
input. E-mail me with and comments and suggestions. Thank you.  
  
  
This chapter is dedicated to those lost in the tragic terrorist attack on America on September 11, 2001.  
May their souls rest in peace.  



	7. Chapter Six Soldiers

The One  
Chapter Six, Soldiers  
  
Benjamin sat in his chair and listened to the report being read to him by a strange looking man. The man in   
front of Benjamin was dressed in a black full body suit, with his mask covering his face. At his waist were   
several curved daggers and strapped across his back a short dirk engraved with various symbols of a long   
forgotten language. Underneath his mask his face was stark white as if it had not seen the sun since he was   
born. His eyes were emotionless and colored a very light blue, almost gray. His mouth barely moved when   
he talked and he was speaking softly but with confidence. His ears came up to a rounded point at the top   
and the lobes of his ears hung slightly low. His head was shaved bald and there was not a trace of hair on   
his face besides his eyebrows. He was kneeled in front of Benjamin as he spoke and his eyes lever left the   
floor in front of him. But the strangest thing about the man was that his body seemed to waver in and out of   
visibility. Benjamin listened to the man with rapt attention and his own green eyes never left the other man.  
  
"After seeing you tell him where the portal was located he ran back to his residence and woke his   
companions. They left for the portal shortly after and the one with lavender hair opened the portal. The man   
with the scar entered last after the red haired one and the portal closed after them. I waited for an hour, as   
instructed, by the portal and then it opened as you said it would. Although the color was different, bright   
colors of red, orange, and yellow to be exact, I entered it and was taken by the portal to the main hall of   
your castle. That's is all." The man said in a hushed voice.  
  
"Good. Just like Kilborne wanted. What about the revolt rumors that have been floating around the   
fortress?" Benjamin asked in an demanding voice.  
  
"I have yet to discover anything. I will have to use…other methods of obtaining the information." The man   
answered in a flat tone.  
  
"You had best be quicker with your tasks, or you may find yourself next to the heads atop the roof."   
Benjamin said, anger slowly rising in his voice. 'Kill the fucking pig. He deserved to die.' The man's   
shoulder's tensed and Benjamin added, "Not yet. You have a day to finish the task. Make good use of it."  
  
"Thank you, sir." The man said as his shoulder's relaxed noticeable. "I will not disappoint you."  
  
"I know you won't Shade. Now go." Benjamin said, signaling for him to leave with a wave of his hand.  
  
Shade stood up and walked out backwards towards the door. He exited through the door and it closed after   
him.  
  
'You should have killed him. He failed you. He should have died like the worthless dog he is.' Benjamin   
closed his eyes as the voice began to speak. He wanted it too stop, but he was stricken with suddenly with a   
great tiredness and could not summon up the strength to banish it from his mind. 'He should be lying in   
front of you with his fucking guts next to him. His head should decorate your throne. You should have cut   
off his fucking testicles and fed them to him. He should have died.' Benjamin began to shake his head   
slowly.  
  
"No." he murmered. "No. He's the best one yet. He's loyal. He won't fail me."  
  
'He will. Just like all the other bastards before him. They couldn't do what you wanted and died. Why   
spare him? He'll fail again. You can count on that.' The voice whispered insistently inside his head.  
  
"Dammit, no. He won't fail. I won't kill him. I won't." Benjamin whined in an unusually small voice. "I   
need him."  
  
'You need no one. No one but yourself, and of course, me.'  
  
Benjamin began to rock in his chair and whispered, "Go away. Go away." His voice began to rise in   
volume and anger. "Go away!" He stopped rocking. "GET OUT OF MY FUCKING HEAD!" he screamed   
into the empty room.  
  
Benjamin sat in silence and realized that he had banished the voice. He looked around dazed for a few   
seconds and then began to laugh. He laughed aloud and the people walking by the room shivered in fear.   
His laugh was like nails scraping against their very souls. No one entered the room to see what the scream   
was this time, and the bloody blade still lie forgotten on the floor next to Benjamin.  
  
******************************  
  
Kilborne was sitting at a large desk with an open book in front of him. He read a passage aloud in a   
whisper.  
  
"And the One of Destiny will come forth at the peak of the Great War to declare his allegiance. Whomever   
he sides with will become the Masters of the Great Flame and after the Last Battle his enemies will be   
banished forever to the Frozen Plains of Gander where they will remain for all eternity." Kilborne looked   
up from the book and closed his eyes. 'He will be ours soon.' Kilborne thought to himself, 'Ours.' Kilborne   
began to laugh coldly into the darkness around him. 'Mine.'  
  
******************************  
  
Magnus stood next to Gasper and listened to Lucca talk.  
  
"So, as I was saying, Gasper and I have come up with three possible reasons as to why the Gates are   
opening again." Lucca said. She pointed up her first finger. "First, there's the theory that the Gates are a   
natural occurring phenomena. They have always been there and they randomly open and close and can be   
opened manually when something is tuned to their, let's say, frequency. Such as the Gate Key. They also   
can collapse in on themselves because the energy that created them has either run out or shifted to a   
different location of the planet. Second is the theory of Gaia. Which is that the spirit of the planet, called   
Gaia, opened the Gates for us before so we could become stronger and defeat Lavos, whom was destroying   
the planet. This means that the planet opens and collapses Gates depending on its needs. Which would also   
mean that the Gates we recently used were opened for some reason we're not sure of yet. The final theory   
is that the Gates are rips in the space-time continuum and that only a being, or device, of immense power or   
on the same frequency as the Gates can open them. So that would mean that when Lavos appeared in   
Magus' Castle and the giant Gate opened was his doing in whatever logic Lavos was using. And that could   
also mean that another being of immense power could open other Gates around the planet as well."  
  
Crono, Marle, and Magnus all looked at Lucca as if she were speaking another language.  
  
"You lost me." Magnus said, scratching his head.  
  
"Yeah, me too." Crono and Marle said almost at the same time.  
  
Lucca looked at all of them with her eyebrow cocked and asked, "You're serious? But, I said it as simply as   
I could."  
  
"Let me have a turn." Gasper said, pushing back his hat a bit. "What Lucca was saying is that either the   
Gates open by themselves and close by themselves, or that the planet itself opens them when its in trouble,   
or that a being of immense power opens them."  
  
"Gotcha." Magnus said, understanding dawning on his face.  
  
Marle and Crono nodded their agreement.  
  
"Why couldn't you explain it that way brainiac?" Magnus asked Lucca, poking fun at her.  
  
"It's not my fault everyone's not as smart as me." Lucca said vainly. " I guess it's just to complicated for   
you."  
  
Crono began to laugh at this and soon Marle and Magnus started to laugh too. Lucca looked them dumbly   
for a second before she burst out laughing too. Gasper smiled underneath the shadow of the brim of his hat.  
  
'Oh to be young again.' He thought to himself with a silent laugh.  
  
"Well, now that we're all done making fun of me," Lucca said with mock hurt, "I think we should figure   
out which Gate is ours."  
  
"Right. Gasper should be able to help us out." Crono said, looking at Gasper expectably.  
  
"Well," Gasper began, "I should be able too. Crono, I believe that the Gate back to your time is…" Gasper   
trailed off suddenly with a slight frown on his face. "Well that's odd. The Gates just…shifted."  
  
"Shifted?! What does that mean?" Lucca asked, beginning to become alarmed.  
  
"Well…I guess you could say that the, let's say destinations, just changed in the Gates. It's only happened   
once before, and not on Earth…" Gasper said with a hint of worry in his voice as he trailed off. "It doesn't   
mean that your way home is gone though. It just means it will be harder to find." He added when a look of   
worry crossed all four companions' faces. 'A lot harder.' He though to himself.  
  
******************************  
  
Shade walked away from the room where Benjamin was in a slow walk. He kept his pale blue eyes on the   
empty space in front of him and continued to walk. He came to the end of the hallway and began to turn left   
at the branch but stopped. He looked to the right and saw three women standing in the hallway. The tallest   
of the three was uglier than the rest and was wearing what appeared to be a maid's uniform. The second   
one was older and was also wearing the uniform of a maid. The third was the one that caught Shade's   
attention more than the others and he found himself staring at her.  
  
'Who is she?' he asked himself in his mind. 'I know her, but who…' Shade continued to stare at the   
woman while continued to ask himself who she was.   
  
The woman who had caught Shade's attention was a young woman of what appeared to be nineteen years   
old. She had light blonde hair that she was wearing at shoulder length. Her eyes were a deep blue and her   
ears also ended in a point at the top, as was natural in her race. She wore a simple white tunic and white   
pants. The uniform of the kitchen staff. Her skin was slightly tanned and her face was what men would call   
beautiful. But none of that interested Shade, all that interested him was that he knew who she was but could   
not figure out from where he knew her. Then it came to him.  
  
'Her. It's actually her.' He thought to himself. 'Sylphis. My sister.'  
  
Shade turned around and began to walk towards the three women. They noticed him only when he was a   
few feet away and their soft conversation quickly ended as they bowed their heads in respect for a high-  
ranking officer of The Ruler Benjamin. Shade stopped in front of them and casually turned his head   
towards them. The women kept their heads down.  
  
"Your names." Shade demanded quietly.  
  
The tallest one answered, "Katera."  
  
"Olga." The older replied.  
  
"My name is Sylphis." The third women answered in a quiet whisper.  
  
Something Shade had not felt in a long time threatened to surge to the surface of his mind. Joy. But he   
quickly quashed it and said in a strained voice, "Do not tarry in the halls."  
  
The three women quickly walked away to the left of Shade and went through a door marked 'Kitchen'.   
Shade looked at the door they had walked through for a moment and thought to himself, 'Sister. Why are   
you here...'  
  
Shade stood in place for a few more moments before his form began to dim and then became almost   
invisible. He turned around and began to walk back down the hall he had originally chosen.  
  
******************************  
  
Kilborne stood in a dark room only lit be a single blue torch held by a man in black armor. The torchlight   
flickered and reflected off the walls by them but no light was reflected by the man's armor, it was almost   
like it was absorbing it. Kilborne waved his hand forward and the man began to walk slowly forward. As he   
walked forward the light given off by the torch showed dead bodies of men and other creatures lying in   
straight lines. The man stopped and turned to face Kilborne. Kilborne snapped his fingers and the flame of   
the torch flared brightly and began to cast unnatural amounts of light around the room. In a few seconds the   
room was completely illuminated in an eerie blue light. The light showed that the room had ten long lines   
of various creatures and man-like figures lined up long ways wall to wall. Their bodies appeared to be   
perfectly preserved except for the wounds that had killed them. Kilborne walked towards the man holding   
the torch and stood in front of him.  
  
"Watch Charles. Watch as I call your soldiers from the dead." Kilborne said with a monotone voice.   
"Watch as I call them forth with powers beyond life that can only be found in death."  
  
Charles remained silent and his eyes looked around at the corpses in a detached gaze. He watched as   
Kilborne raised his hands and a pale red light began to pulse around his body.  
  
"Traseious, kaltenk, pali, rutis." Kilorne spoke in a soft voice. "Frahis, lowrea, deptar!" he said in a louder   
voice. "Rise from your death sleep and obey me." He spoke in a softer voice then before.  
  
The red light began to run from Kilborne's body and slowly enveloped the corpses that lay on the floor.   
The bodies began to twitch and move slightly. A small smile broke out on Kilborne's face and his eyes   
seemed to light up at the sight of the dead bodies moving. Charles face remained expressionless as he stood   
gazing out at the bodies. The bodies suddenly stopped twitching and their limbs began to move, as if the   
dead were testing out their former bodies to see if they still worked. A minute passed and then the first of   
the corpses began to sit up, then stand. Charles swept his eyes across the various creatures standing before   
him. His line of vision crossed men, what looked like a cross between a man and a wolf, winged creatures   
that looked like gothic style gargoyles, and various other species.  
  
"Your men Charles. Your men." Kilborne all but whispered to him. "Yours to control and to use to   
dominate others."  
  
"I will use them well, master." Charles replied in an emotionless tone.  
  
"I know you will." Kilborne said, a cruel smile spread across his lips. "I know you will. They," he said   
pointing to the now reanimated corpses, "will wait in here until they are needed. Now come Charles, and   
leave the flame in the holder at the end of the room."  
  
Charles turned and walked to the back of the room, where he placed the torch in a holder hanging on the   
wall. The blue light was reflected dully in the undead eyes of the corpses. Charles turned around again and   
followed Kilborne out of the room, closing the door behind him and sealing the blue light inside of the   
room with the corpses of the once living warriors.  



	8. Chapter Seven The Marks of an Assassin

The One  
  
Chapter Seven, The Marks of an Assassin  
  
The pendent once worn by the princess of Guardia Nadia lay in darkness now, its essence stained black. The Dreamstone jewel crafted into its center was no longer a beautiful blue, but a hideous black, reflecting its holders soul, Charles soul. It no longer reflected light in a dazzling pattern, it now absorbed light, as if it desired to destroy all that was good and just, as its holder had now become. It was near to falling so far into the darkness that light would never touch it again. It was almost dead to the world.  
  
****************************  
  
Charles slept silently in his room, on what he thought was the comfortable, soft, white bed. He slept and neither moved or talked in his sleep. Kilborne watched him as he always did and watched as Charles slipped slowly more and more into darkness. Kilborne watched in utter silence, no sound reaching him in his dark solitude. But even though he could hear nor see anything but the image of Charles he knew all that was happening with Magnus.  
  
'Always the same. The vision and the truth are the same, as always.' Kilborne thought in the back of his mind. 'Fools.'  
  
****************************  
  
In Charles mind the days, months, and years were blended together making it impossible for him to tell how long it was since he had first seen Kilborne in the ruins of the Cathedral. But Kilborne knew how long it had been. In Earth time it had been ten years, eight months, two weeks, four days, and two hours. Give or take a few minutes. But Kilborne's residence and normal time were on two completely different levels. Where Kilborne and Charles where time was crawling at such a small pace that it seemed not to pass at all. Kilborne's work mostly. He had cast an uncountable number of spells and used several magical artifacts to slow time as much as it had in his fortress. That combined with the sites natural power had created the time effect. The beauty of the effect was that only the people that Kilborne wanted to aged with the fortresses time. If he wanted to he could make them age with normal time. But he had not created the 'time bubble' for his sake. He would live longer than some small planets did. He had created it for his soldiers who were of a different race then he. Ones that were not so 'well-preserved' as he was.  
  
But with Charles he had had to cast even more spells to control him so he could use the powers lying dormant in him. He had slowly cast a type of slave spell on the boy, making it so that every second he spent inside Kilborne's time bubble slowly gave a part of his mind to Kilborne. He had almost complete control of Charles but the sub-conscience of the blasted boy was fighting the spell stronger than Kilborne had expected. He had not lost his patience though and simply killed Charles. The reanimation spell would have quashed his real powers. A rare, unfortunate thing for Kilborne.  
  
When most things die they become spirits of sorts and gain powers of supernatural nature. But they cannot use the powers they gain from death because they have lost their physical forms. But Kilborne could use a complex spell to reintegrate the spirits back into their former bodies along with their newfound powers. But instead of being able to live as they once had, Kilborne had complete control of them and could force them to use their powers for his own ends. But with Charles and the few like him the spirits would lose the power they had once had when alive because the spirit's energy-like form would not be able to contain the immense power. The lose of this power would make the spirit useless for the reanimation spell which would bring back a spirit with no real power and an unquenchable rage at being ripped from its peaceful slumber that it had fallen into when it had died.  
  
That very thing had happened once when Kilborne was still new to his own powers. He had slain a man whom he had thought would make a powerful soldier after the reanimation spell was cast after his death. Only Kilborne had not sensed the man's power lying asleep deep in the man's mind. After he had cast the spell the man had come back with fire in his dead eyes. He had lunged at Kilborne and would have torn his throat out if Kilborne had been a normal necromancer. But he wasn't. Kilborne had flung him against a wall and cut the dead mans head from his shoulders. Kilborne had been very careful after that 'incident' and he had not made any mistakes since.  
  
But that was the farthest thing from his mind. He had the majority of his mind turned to Charles. He would not need to push Magnus along for awhile and that left him with more time to enslave Charles.  
  
****************************  
  
"What do you mean by harder?" Marle asked, worry lines creasing her brow.  
  
"Well…um…by harder…I mean…" Gasper trailed off, not wanting to tell the four in front of him the bad news. "I mean…it might take you years to get back."  
  
"Years?!" Magnus exclaimed. "Years! That's insane!"  
  
Lucca stared with an open mouth in shock at Gasper's words, speechless for the first time in her life. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. 'Years!?' she thought to herself, 'Impossible!"  
  
"Calm down everyone." Gasper said with a slightly louder voice then usual, trying to regain control of the situation that had developed before him. "Years on the outside."  
  
Marle, Lucca, and Crono calmed down noticeably by Magnus remained as alarmed as he had been before.  
  
"But years is still a possibility? I can't stay in this fucking place for years!" Magnus yelled at the old man. "There has to be a quicker way!"  
  
"I said CALM DOWN!" Gasper yelled in an equal tone to Magnus' voice. "You will get home. Just in a longer period of time then it usually would have taken."  
  
"But still…" Magnus began, but his anger and alarm were quickly cooling off at the surprise of the old man's tone of voice.  
  
"But nothing. Calm down and I'll try to help you figure out another way home." Gasper said, calming down himself. "Now, where was I…oh yeah. You can still get home. But it will take longer. And it will be harder. First of all, I have to figure out where the Gates shifted too and to what times they will lead too. That will take awhile, so you four might as well make yourselves as comfortable as you can."  
  
****************************  
  
"Here. I almost was killed getting this damned thing, so you better be happy." A man in a leather tunic said, tossing a rolled up parchment to gruff-looking man sitting in a simple chair.  
  
"Thank you. You will be paid when I have a look at it." The man in the chair replied, setting the parchment down on the table in front of him. He began to unroll it and pinned the edges back with small sharp pins. He whistled softly and said, "Beautiful. It's better then I expected. Here." He said, pulling a small pouch from his belt and tossed it to the man in the leather tunic. "200 dendars, as promised."  
  
The man in the leather tunic caught the pouch and opened it up. After shifting quickly through it he closed it again and tied it to his belt. "Well then, call me again if you need anything else."  
  
"I will."  
  
The man in the leather tunic exited the room through a wooden door that was a few feet behind him. The man sitting in the chair watched him go then looked back down at the parchment. His brown eyes scanned it and stopped moving when they spotted what he was most interested in. The parchment in front of the man was a detailed blueprint of what appeared to be a castle of some sorts. His gaze had stopped on the outline of a room marked 'T.R.'  
  
'The throne room. Perfect. It can all be set up then.' The man thought. 'History will remember me as Conor the Savior. The liberator of his people.'  
  
Conor looked up from the blueprint to a banner hanging on the wall opposite him. A white tree encircled by a green rope was imprinted on a red background. The symbol of the resistance.  
  
Conor stroked at his reddish brown beard and stood up. As he stood his pulled down slightly on his off-white shirt and smoothed out his brown pants. He pushed the chair he was sitting in back under the table and walked to the door the other man had just exited. He opened it and turned his head to a man whom appeared to be standing guard next to the door.  
  
"Gregory, get in here. Its what we've been looking for." Conor said in an excited voice.  
  
"Conor, you don't mean?" Gregory began, but he broke into a smile as Conor nodded. "My gods man, do you know what this means?"  
  
"It means we have a chance, be it a small one, to win." Conor replied with a twinkle of joy in his eye.  
  
Gregory clapped Conor on the back and the two men walked back into the room. They both stood over the parchment and began to examine it, one or the other talking in an excited whisper from time to time.  
  
Conor and Gregory were so engrossed in the blueprint they failed to notice that the door had opened slightly and was closed again. A ripple of light passed across the room and stopped in the shadows in the corner of the room, unseen to anyone who was not within a meter or so of it.  
  
Shade stood quiet but ready to draw a weapon at anytime, or kill for that matter. He had spent four hours tracking down someone who could be 'convinced' to tell him where to find this room. The man he had finally found had taken more then a half-hour to break, longer then Shade had expected.  
  
'They are stronger then usual. Not a good sign. They will have to be crushed swiftly and completely.' He had thought to himself after the man he had questioned had finally broke.  
  
Broke had been more than a metaphor for what the poor man had gone through. He had had each of his long fingers broken in two places and both wrists broken as well. He had clenched his green-brown eyes and his dull yellow teeth in pain but had not broken. Shade had then had to resort to more forceful measures. The man had finally spoken after his arm had been broken at the elbow and pulled out of its shoulder socket. He had cried as he had spoke, sobbing like fool. Shade had shown no mercy.  
  
"Conor is in a cave outside of Synesta! I swear it! Oh gods! Please stop!" the man had sobbed.  
  
"Are you sure yorek?" Shade demanded, using the insult made up for lower forms of life. "Perhaps I should break your other arm to see if you are telling the truth?"  
  
The man had looked at where Shade's eyes should have been showing but saw only the blackness of the mask hiding them. He knew no mercy would come. "I swear on all the gods! I swear!"  
  
Shade looked at the pitiful sight in front of him and could have retched from disgust. "I believe you dog." Shade had said, drawing one of his curved daggers.  
  
The man saw the dim light of the room glint off of the blade and he knew that he would die. He managed to control his sobbing slightly, determined to die with some dignity. Shade would have laughed if he could, but instead brought the blade to the broken mans neck.  
  
"Die." He hissed quietly and sliced the blade across the man's throat. His eyes bulged as blood leapt from his neck and his life vein began to drain rapidly of blood. Shade let him fall against his bonds and wiped to dagger off on the dead man's shirt.  
  
Shade brought himself back from the memory only a few hours old and continued to watch the men ahead of him. Conor had turned his head to Gregory and was smiling broadly. His teeth were a clean white and his eyes a deep brown. His ears were the same as Gregory's, pointed in a round tip at the top and slightly elongated at the bottom. Gregory tugged slightly his left ear and continued to look at the blueprint. Shade decided now was the best time to kill them.  
  
He slowly became visible, although he was still concealed slightly in shadow. He drew a dagger and prepared to throw it. At that moment Gregory happened to glance around the room. His eyes were drawn suddenly to the shrouded figure in the shadows. He drew his short sword in alarm and stepped in front of Conor.  
  
"Who's there? Show yourself!" he demanded of Shade.  
  
"I am death come for your souls." Shade replied, stepping into the light and prepared to rush the two men.  
  
"Conor! Run!" Gregory yelled back at his companion. When he saw that Conor intended to stay with him he shoved him back with his shoulder. "Go you fool! You cannot die!"  
  
Conor looked at his friend who was prepared to die for him and nodded slightly. He glared at Shade and rushed to a door behind the table after grabbing the blueprint off of it. He opened the door and slammed it behind him; the clank of a bolt being thrown closed sounded through the room. Gregory now certain the Conor was out of harms way for the time being concentrated completely on Shade. Gregory had gone through his childhood training to fight and to be prepared for this moment, when he would either kill or be killed.  
  
"The Abyss will not claim me this day." Gregory whispered to himself.  
  
Shade slipped his dagger back into its spot in his belt and drew his dirk from its sheath on his back. The runes engraved on it gave off a soft red light as Shade prepared to attack. Gregory brought his short sword into a two handed grip and prepared himself for what could be his last moments.  
  
"It hungers for blood. Your blood!" Shade hissed from behind his mask and the red light on his dirk intensified.  
  
Gregory felt fear crawl up his spine but did his best not to show it. He drew back his short sword slightly and charged forward at Shade. He swung the blade down towards Shades neck but hit nothing but air. He spun around quickly but Shade was already on top of him, the now red dirk slicing across his unarmored chest. Gregory stumbled backwards, his wound burning like fire. The blood on the dirk seemed to be absorbed but Gregory could not see it. His vision was blurring and he could barely lift the sword back up to any position to defend himself.  
  
"Fool. You could not possibly hope to even defend yourself against me." Shade hissed. 'Conor is gone for now. I will deal with this one appropriately.' He thought as he sheathed the glowing dirk.  
  
Gregory saw this and knew that he had lost. His opponent had even put away his weapon and was standing as if waiting. It came to Gregory suddenly. Shade was waiting for him to fall. He stumbled forward a step and his short sword clattered to the ground as he dropped it. His left hand reached up for his chest wound and held it. The burning was getting worse every second. He felt himself pitching forward but could do nothing to stop it. It was like a dream.  
  
'Yes, a dream. All a dream, and I'll wake up and…' his thoughts broke off as he hit the ground and his mind grew numb.  
  
Shade walked over to the downed Gregory and gave him a soft kick in the side to make sure he was out. He bent down and picked Gregory up as if he were a child and placed him in the chair Conor had just been sitting in. He pulled out a dagger and brought it up to Gregory's face. He sliced downwards across his cheek and then crossed it. He did the same to the other cheek. He then cut a semi-circle across Gregory's forehead and sliced a line through the middle of it to the start of his nose bridge. The blood was pouring down Gregory's face now and covered it in red. Shade was not finished though. He brought the dagger to Gregory's ears and sliced the tips of them off. This done his placed the severed tips on the table where the blueprint had been placed. He wiped the blade on Gregory's shirt and replaced it in his belt. He had placed 'The Marks of an Assassin' on Gregory.  
  
Shade walked away from the mutilated Gregory and to the door Conor had escaped from. He put his hand to it and closed his eyes.  
  
'Actre Oak, from the Forest of Illiusion. The bolt is iron. Easy enough to break.' He thought to himself as he stepped a half-step back form the door. He brought his fist back and slammed it against the door. A loud crack was heard and it flew backwards into the passageway. The wood had not cracked or splintered in the least, it was the iron bolt that had kept the door barred against forced entry that had cracked in half. The hinges of the door had also spilt apart. Shade walked through the doorway without a glance backward at the man bleeding to death from his various knife wounds.  
  
****************************  
  
Conor ran as he had never run before in his life. The shadowed passage's walls flashed past him but his eyes never left the space in front of him. He blinked back hot tears that threatened to blind him lest they be fought back. He would grieve for his lost friend when he was safe, for now, he had to concentrate on staying alive.  
  
"Gregory." He whispered quietly into the darkness. "Gods I'm sorry."  
  
****************************  
  
Shade walked through the long passage not bothering to rush into any possible ambush. Not that this Conor poised a threat to him, but Shade preferred to be the one attacking. He was not worried about Conor escaping him either. Even if he did get out of the caves, Shade would find him at his next hideout. No need to rush or worry.  
  
Shade's excellent night vision proved to serve him well in the dark passage. He could see the walls almost perfectly and the bumps and small holes in the floor as well. Stumbling around in the dark was for the prey, not the hunter. Shade made sure to note the quality the cave hideout was in. Too well kept in his opinion. Benjamin would hear of it in his report.  
  
Shade felt the warmth of his dirk strapped to his back and in his mind said, 'Calm yourself blade of ancient times past. Soon you will taste blood again.'  
  
As Shade followed Conor, Gregory was regaining conciseness somewhat. He tried to move but black spots peppered his vision and he felt extremely light-headed. He let his head fall back against the wall he was propped against. His chest still burned but seemed to have lost the intensity of pain it once had. He could tell his face was wet with something, but what that liquid was he could not tell. A coppery taste suddenly filled his mouth and he realized why he felt so lightheaded. He was dying from blood loss. He tried to lift his hand to touch his face but it felt like it was weighted down with lead. In fact, his whole body seemed to be like that.  
  
"I, will, not, submit." He managed to mumble through what seemed like a mouth full of cotton. "I, refuse, too."  
  
He attempted to concentrate on his house and what it looked like in the evening with the moons hanging in the sky in the hopes that he would be able to remain awake if he held something in his mind. He groaned in frustration at the fact that he could only remember what the two moons looked like. And even that simple image was beginning to fade form his mind. He vision began to grow fuzzy again and blackness began to cloud his vision. He looked up slightly and saw a flash of white in his tunnel vision. It cleared somewhat and the trunk of a white tree became visible. The blackness that had invaded his vision began to recede somewhat and he saw the white tree encircled by the green rope. He clung to the rope in his mind and attempted to remain awake as long as he could.  
  
Gregory smiled slightly and said to himself, 'You win death. You win…" his thoughts faded away as the last of his life fluid began to trickle away through the cuts on his face.  
  
The marks on his face stopped leaking blood and closed themselves, leaving ugly scars on Gregory's deathly pale face. The marks had served their purpose. The people of the rebellion would know that Shade was hunting them. 


	9. Chapter Eight A Dream

The One  
  
Chapter Eight, A Dream  
  
Magnus found himself standing in front of a long, swaying rope bridge that seemed to span across a black, bottomless pit. He squinted his eyes and strained to see where the bridge connected with the other side of the pit. He could see nothing but a gray haze that started about twenty meters ahead of where he was. He looked down and saw nothing but black. Above in the sky was gray but he could see a distinctly lighter patch in the sky. It seemed that a bright light was trying to break through what Magnus had decided was cloud cover.  
  
"It's like a dream or something." Magnus said into the emptiness around him.  
  
"No dream Cal'tek." A voice said from behind Magnus.  
  
Magnus spun around to see whom was speaking but found nothing but gray behind him. He turned back towards the bridge to see if the speaker was on the bridge but he could see nothing different.  
  
"Or I should say, not a dream in the sense that it's a random occurrence of events made up by your mind as you sleep." The voice now spoke as if above Magnus.  
  
Magnus looked up but saw nothing but the gray again.  
  
"Goddammit! Show yourself whoever you are!" Magnus demanded of the voice.  
  
The voice continued speaking as if Magnus had not shouted at all. "No, not a dream. More like a place in your mind where I can speak to you."  
  
This time the voice seemed to come from everywhere as if to emphasize its point. Magnus looked from side to side and then back to the bridge. He took a step towards the bridge but the voice boomed out from everywhere again.  
  
"I wouldn't if I were you. You don't know what lies down that path. You aren't ready…yet." As the voice spoke the gray fog expanded and completely covered the bridge up, leaving Magnus with only a small space to stand in.  
  
"Who are you?!" Magnus demanded again. "And what do you mean I'm not ready? Ready for what?"  
  
"So many questions. As I would expect from you Cal'tek." The voice said, this time from closer to Magnus. "But I'll only say this. You aren't ready for The Choice. But you will be. Oh, you will be." The voice seemed to fade with its last few words.  
  
The gray fog began to expand slowly towards Magnus but he could do nothing except stand still and wait for it to cover him. It began to cover his feet and they went numb. Soon, it was covering him past his chest and his was beginning to feel very tired.  
  
Before it covered his head he heard the voice again, this time very soft and distant. "Soon."  
  
Magnus woke with a jolt. He was breathing fast and was disorientated. The dream had already faded from his memory and he let it go. He felt like he shouldn't try to remember it anyway. He looked around and saw the blackness that the wooden structure in The End of Time seemed to float through. He brought his hands up to his eyes and massaged them gently through the eyelids. He pushed himself up from the sitting position he had woken up in and walked over to where Gasper was. The usual snot bubble was expanding and contracting slowly with the old man's even breaths. He was asleep.  
  
Magnus felt anger rising up through his being and tapped Gasper on the shoulder roughly. "Wake up you old fart!" Magnus said with venomous voice.  
  
The snot bubble burst and Gasper exhaled suddenly and he opened his eyes and glared at Magnus. "A polite shake and nicer tone of voice would have sufficed you hothead."  
  
Magnus glared back at the old man and hissed through clenched teeth, "You're supposed to be figuring out a way for me – us – to get home. But instead you're asleep!"  
  
"I have to sleep too you know." Gasper replied with an equally sharp tone. "I was thinking it over in my head as I slept anyway."  
  
Magnus swallowed the angry retort that he almost spit out and said in a slightly calmer voice, "Did you think of anything will you were sleeping on it?"  
  
Gasper glared at Magnus for a few seconds more before his expression softened suddenly. 'Can't blame the kid for being angry.' He thought to himself. 'I would feel the same way.'  
  
"Well? " Magnus asked, taping his left foot slightly.  
  
"Well, I suppose you should get the others over here to hear it as well." Gasper said, motioning generally around the room with his hand.  
  
Magnus sighed and walked over to where Crono had fallen asleep. He was about to give him a kick in the side to wake him but noticed Marle was curled up against him, Crono's arm draped around her shoulders. Magnus sighed again and decided to wake Lucca first.  
  
He looked around but could not find her in the main room. Magnus gave a big yawn and walked over to where the Gates where housed. He found Lucca sprawled out in the corner, snoring loudly.  
  
Magnus grinned slightly and said quietly, "Snores louder than Dad used too." When he mentioned his father a memory of a tall, slightly fat man flashed in Magnus' eyes, but he pushed it down. With that memory came pain.  
  
He leaned over top of Lucca and gave her a soft poke in the stomach, his usual way of waking people up. He knew most people hated being poked in the stomach, which is why the usually woke up. Lucca must have liked it, or was indifferent to it, because she snored louder than before and continued to sleep. Magnus ran a hand through his hair and sighed again. A heavy sleeper.  
  
"Get up Lucca." Magnus said in a slightly louder voice than his usual one. Lucca slept on still. "Get up!" Magnus said even louder. Lucca mumbled something under her breath but started to snore again. "Lucca, if you are pretending to sleep, I'm going to tickle you to death. I swear I'll do it." Magnus said in a serious enough tone to get a small smile to crack on Lucca's face.  
  
"I knew. Now get up." Magnus said, a smirk of his forming on his face.  
  
"Jeez. You think in the future they still would have had something called a sense of humor!" Lucca exclaimed sarcastically.  
  
"Hilarious. Now get up. Gasper wants us." Magnus said, offering his hand to Lucca.  
  
Lucca grinned up at him and took his hand, hefting herself up off of the ground.  
  
********************  
  
Conor had finally emerged from the passageway when the sun was setting in the horizon. The First Moon could be seen in the sky already. A sure sign that winter was coming to the land. A cold wind blew past Conor as he continued to run towards the nearest town, Synesta.  
  
His heart thudding against his chest so hard it felt like it would burst from his ribcage. Conor ran. He would not be caught and make Gregory's death worthless. He simply would not. His thighs and calves began to cramp up but still Conor ran.  
  
He felt himself slipping too late and fell face first into the ground, skidding a few feet. He could feel the loose dirt and stones scraping against his face and ripping his brown pants. He pushed himself up and continued to run, although he was forced to slow down from a mad dash to a jog. His lungs felt like they would explode at any minute but he could see the town and ignored the pain. He would make it.  
  
Shade had just emerged from the passage himself and with his enhanced vision he saw Conor nearing Synesta. He cursed softly and dashed after him. His arms pumping and his legs working at their hardest, Shade began to catch up to Conor.  
  
Shade could almost smell the fear and panic emanating off of his prey and he could feel to dirk on his back being to heat. He ran past the spot where Conor had slipped and took little notice of the blood left there.  
  
His prey was close.  
  
Shade almost lost himself to the animal instincts surging to the surface of his mind but he managed to push them down far enough so he would still be in control of himself. He could not afford to lose control at this point.  
  
Conor's concentration was completely on the task of getting to Synesta he failed to notice that his would-be assassin was closing in on him. Shade was taking four strides for every one stride made by Conor and in doing so Shade was all but guaranteed the kill. But then it happened.  
  
'SHADE!' Benjamin's voice boomed inside of Shade's mind. 'TO ME!'  
  
Shade stopped dead in his tracks. He was about to tell Benjamin to wait a few minutes but his senses seemed to catch up to him. Even if he was about to crush the rebellion, Benjamin was not to be questioned. At least, not when he gave a command.  
  
Conor managed to stumble into the town; still unaware of how close death had come to claiming him. Shade cursed silently and faded from sight. The wind rustled through the thin grass and he was gone from sight. Conor had escaped.  
  
Shade walked heatedly into Benjamin's gathering room but remembered that his life hanged in the balance every time he was in the presence of The Ruler. He knelt in front of the green eyed Benjamin and waited for him to speak.  
  
"Leave Conor alive. He is needed for a short while." Benjamin said.  
  
"Sire, am I mistaken in the fact that I was commanded to crush the rebellion?" Shade asked quietly, choosing his words carefully.  
  
"No. You were to find out information on it. That is all. In time you will help crush it, but later. You are dismissed for now. Leave." Benjamin commanded, ended the meeting.  
  
Shade backed away to the open door and left swiftly for his quarters. The warmth of the dirk was still present on Shade's back, reminding him of his promise for blood.  
  
'Yes, I know. I will find a slave.' Shade whispered to the blade.  
  
It brightened as if in anticipation.  
  
********************  
  
"It better be a way home that you want to discuss Gasper." Crono grumbled, obviously grumpy from being woken up.  
  
"Crono, you never were a morning person… but calm down. Gasper said it was important." Lucca chided the red-haired warrior.  
  
"Well, I suppose I should say it." Gasper said with a slight sigh. "The only Gate I can find that will lead Crono, Lucca, and Marle back to their proper time opens into the middle of the ocean."  
  
Crono's jaw dropped. He could not believe what he had just heard. That would mean he couldn't get home.  
  
"You gotta be kidding me!" Crono exclaimed. "In the ocean?! That means we can't get home!"  
  
"Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars." Magnus mumbled under his breath.  
  
"What did you say Magnus?" Lucca asked, being the only one who had heard him.  
  
"What? Oh, um… nothing. Just… nothing." Magnus stammered.  
  
Marle had begun to tear up and was close to crying. Crono's mouth continued to hang and Lucca's look of disbelief was one not usually worn by her.  
  
"I'm…I'm sorry." Gasper said lamely. "But there's nothing I can do about it."  
  
"But…but…there has to be a way…for us to do…something!" Lucca exclaimed, pounding her fist weakly into her palm. "Something…"  
  
Magnus looked around at his friends and his eyes stopped on Lucca. In the short time he had known the young woman he had never seen her look as lost as she did now.  
  
"There has to be a way. Something we haven't thought of…" Magnus said more to himself then to the others. An idea popped into Magnus' head and his eyes lit up with excitement. "What about that time travel thing. You know…the Epi-something-or-other."  
  
"The Epoch? Of course! No…wait. Dammit. The thing's still in my basement. Not intact might I add." Lucca said, crushing the hope that had sprung up as quickly as it had came.  
  
"Well shit." Magnus muttered. He looked up at Gasper as he remembered what he was going ask him."I don't want to sound selfish, but can I still get home?" he said aloud to Gasper.  
  
Gasper looked at Magnus dumbly for a second but then said "Oh yes. Well…I never really checked. But wait a second, I'll check now."  
  
Gasper's face contorted in concentration for a few moments before he said, "I found one. It's the same one you came through. I seems to not have shifted with the others."  
  
"Well, at least one of us can get home…Are you going to go right away Magnus?" Crono asked.  
  
"Well, I was going to but…I think I might stay until we find a way for you guys to get home." As he spoke he felt a pang of guilt at not returning to look after his mother, but he reminded himself that he owed Crono and his new friends his life. 'You also owe your mother your life too.' A voice said in Magnus' head. Pushing down his conscience he mentally resolved to help his friends first. "It looks like I'm going to be staying with you guys longer than I thought I would." He said aloud, trying not to let the guilt show in his voice. 


	10. Chapter Nine Plans

The One  
  
Chapter Nine, Plans  
  
"Kill everyone." Charles commanded.  
  
The walking dead standing in front of him saluted and turned to a group of people huddled together in a circle surrounded by the rest of Charles' troops. The people looked with fearful eyes at the strange men whom had charged into their small village and torched it to the ground, killing many of the villagers as they slept. Now the small few who had survived had just been sentenced to death.  
  
"Mama, I'm scared." A small child cried to her mother.  
  
The mother stroked her child's furry head hugged her close. She was afraid as well. Her golden eyes scanned the men approaching again and she saw death with a face. She blinked back angry tears of injustice and hatred and tried to calm herself, for her child's sake. She could smell rot coming off of the soldiers who had attacked them but could not find any source of decay. Her lips curled back across her snout and she growled deep in her throat.  
  
"Bastards. All of them." She whispered angrily to herself. "Those fucking bastards."  
  
Her people had been a peaceful tribe of Lupus Wolfs. They had never harmed anyone expect for their livestock when they killed them for meat. And now, in a single day they were to be wiped out completely. The she-wolf clenched her hands and growled deeper.  
  
"Maranda! Calm down. Do not anger them." An ancient looking wolf whispered to her.  
  
"No. I will not calm down. We are dead anyway." Maranda said with malice in her voice. "I will at least take a few of them with me."  
  
Maranda stepped in front of her child and stood up straight. She towered over the advancing soldiers by at least two feet. She glared at them with pure hatred and yelled, "You will pay!"  
  
She felt the Change over coming her and welcomed it. She felt her fur growing rapidly and her fangs and talons enlarging. Her clothes began to rip as her muscles increased rapidly and her height began to increase. The other villagers stared in wonder and fear. They had not seen the Change take one of their own in many generations. It was just simply not needed for their lifestyle.  
  
Maranda's Change completed and the Dark Moon ran with her. Her child shrank back and whimpered, but her mother was too far into the Change to hear anything but the sounds of her enemies. The undead soldiers continued to advance with no hesitation and Maranda charged them. She smashed into the closest one, a human, and flung him to the ground. Talons slashing she ripped apart his chest and pounded his face with her huge fists. She leapt to another human warrior and ripped his head from his shoulders. The body fell to the ground and began to rapidly rot away to nothing. Maranda ran to the next soldier, a winged warrior and slashed out with her talons. Her opponent leapt back and thrust his spear towards her, catching her high in the shoulder. Maranda howled in rage and ripped the spear out of the winged warriors' grasp. Maranda grasped the spear and pulled it out of her shoulder, throwing it casually aside. She grabbed the warrior by his head and lifted him high into the air. As she was about to crush his head between her hands she felt the annoying sting of blades being thrust into her back. She flung the winged man aside and swept at the soldiers attacking her. She managed to decapitate two others and sever another's arm before a sword pierced her heart. She fell with a loud thud and lay still. The soldiers turned back to the remaining Wolfs and advanced. The few children were crying loudly and the adults gaped at what they had just witnessed. No one could move. Terror had weaken their limbs and frozen their minds.  
  
"Stubborn fools." Charles said as he watched his soldiers advance on the helpless Lupus. "They will make excellent soldiers." He swung his back on them and walked away to let his soldiers do their work.  
  
Night was approaching when a young boy began to move along the horizon. The boy saw what looked like many lights shining in the village.  
  
'Strange. They usually don't turn the lanterns on until deep night.' The young boy thought to himself. As he moved closer he saw the flames licking angrily through the center of the village. "Oh Gods no!" he yelled.  
  
The boy sprinted the rest of the way, his wolf-like legs carrying him like wings. As he neared closer he saw the pile of bodies lying in undignified heaps. He felt tears of grief and rage well up to the surface but pushed them down. He had to see if his family was alive.  
  
As he stopped by the bodies he felt bile rise up his throat at the ghastly scene before him. Elderly people, women, children, and a few men-wolf lay with their stomachs spilt and their heads gone. Some were missing limbs and others were torn in half. He bent over suddenly and vomited. The tears that he had earlier kept down rushed to the top, racking his body with sobs and dry heaves.  
  
"Mother…sister…No." he whispered to himself. He continued to kneel with his hands on the ground in front of him and panted loudly. "Who could have…"  
  
"The Rulers forces no doubt." Said a voice from behind him.  
  
The boy whipped his head around in fear. He saw a figure standing in the shadows of one of the few untouched huts. His ears lowered against his scalp and his lips pulled back, the youth growled as terror raced through his body.  
  
"What? Ashamed of your work!? Have to stand in the shadows so the dead won't scream at you for stealing their lives?!" the youth screamed at the figure. "I'll kill you!"  
  
"Don't be foolish boy." The unknown person said with a calm voice. "I can see you shaking from here. You are in no condition to make threats to a rabbit let alone a person." The person stepped into the light. "Look into my eyes, boy and tell me if you think I'm a killer."  
  
The stranger was a tall woman with closely cropped black hair. She wore a simple leather tunic tailored to her feminine figure and a pair of leather riding pants. At her side was a long sword with a hilt made out of what appeared to be ivory. She also wore leather riding boots and clasped to her left foot was a short dagger. Her face was slightly angular and gave off a look of wild beauty.  
  
The youth stared into her eyes and studied the milky white circles. He realized that she was blind.  
  
"Well? Do I pass?" the blind woman asked.  
  
"Who…who are you?" the wolf youth asked.  
  
"Call me Dedra. And you would be?" Dedra asked.  
  
"Mik." He answered.  
  
"Well Mik. I'm am truly sorry about what happened here, but I am afraid we'll have to be going." She said as she gestured to her jet-black horse waiting some feet away.  
  
The initial shock of the woman wore off and Mik cried out "But we can't! I can't just leave here without looking for my family or any other people still alive. And even if they are dead, I can't just leave them lying here!"  
  
"Foolish child! They are simple husks of skin now. The souls have fled this diseased world for the next. Burying them only wastes the time we may have to escape without dying or selves." Dedra said, her face dark.  
  
Mik stared at her in shock and tears began to well up in his eyes again. Dedra heard him choking down the sobs that were coming and her face softened. 'Foolish woman more like it. The boy has just lost his village.' She chided herself mentally. "Mik. Come with me. I am truly sorry for what happened here, but there is nothing you can do to change it."  
  
Mik looked at Dedra for a moment longer and wiped his hand across his eyes. He stood up on still shaky legs and began to walk over to the strange woman. She looked at him with compassion and understanding. She had been five when her village had been raided. But she had survived, and now she knew that she had come here to help the wolf-child survive.  
  
Dedra made a clicking noise in her mouth and said "Here Steel-Dust."  
  
The gray stallion walked over to Dedra and paused a few feet away from her. It snorted and stomped its feet softly. Mik looked at Dedra in confusion.  
  
"Why does it not like me?" he asked, sniffing the air as well.  
  
"His name is Steel-Dust and he smells the Lupus. To him, you smell similar to a wolf." Dedra explained, moving beside her mount and stroking his sides. She whispered a few gentle words to the horse and it calmed down almost at once. "He will get used to you. Come here."  
  
Mik walked warily towards the horse and slowly placed his hand against its flank. The horse snorted softly but remained somewhat calm. It smelled wolf coming off of the person petting it, but its master seemed unconcerned so it remained where it stood.  
  
"See, already used to you." Dedra said with false cheerfulness.  
  
"Nice horse…" Mik said before collapsing to the ground.  
  
Dedra rushed to his side and felt for a pulse on his neck. She sighed with relief. He had just fainted. If it was from exhaustion or from what had just happened to his village, she didn't know. All she knew was that she had to get him out of the area.  
  
***************  
  
"The Lupus Wolfs are dead." Charles said to the wavering image in front of him.  
  
"Good. The beasts could have posed a problem." The image said.  
  
"What about the Elns?" Charles asked.  
  
"The Elns are cowards who have been conquered or killed. The Wolfs are beasts to be used or destroyed. The barbarians in the Northern Lands are warring amongst themselves. This planet is ours." The image said.  
  
"Do not get over confident Benjamin." Charles said. "There is still a chance that He may interfere. If He does, do not kill him."  
  
"Why should I not kill him. If he interferes is he not the enemy?" Benjamin demanded.  
  
"Watch how you speak to me. I am your superior. I will repeat myself only once. He is not to be killed. Merely stopped. Understood?"  
  
"Perfectly." Benjamin said through clenched teeth.  
  
"Good. I will contact you when I have spoken to Master Kilborne." Charles said, waving his hand through the image of Benjamin, making it dissipate.  
  
Charles stood from the chair he had been sitting in and walked to his cot at the back of his tent. He lay down and closed his eyes. He would not be disturbed. The undead guards would make sure to that.  
  
He spoke one word of Power and he established contact with Kilborne.  
  
'Master Kilborne.' He said.  
  
'Ah. Charles. Your report?' Kilborne asked.  
  
'I destroyed the Lupus Wolfs as commanded. The bodies of the strongest warriors have been taken as well. They are sitting in the Preserving Tubes.'  
  
'Excellent. Your next task will be to take your undead soldiers to Benjamin. There you will help his army take the rest of the planet.'  
  
'And the bodies we took?' Charles asked.  
  
'I will reanimate them shortly. Relax you mind.' Kilborne commanded.  
  
Charles opened his eyes and sat up.  
  
"Let's go see the bodies." Charles-Kilborne said.  
  
Charles-Kilborne walked swiftly out of his tent and to the hastily constructed wooden structure housing the Preserving Tubes. Once inside he looked the bodies over. Thirty Wolfs lay inside of three large, glass containers.  
  
Charles-Kilborne opened his palms and chanted the Reanimation Spell. The bodies went through the spasms of undead rebirth and then lay still. Charles-Kilborne gestured with his finger and the tops of the containers opened, allowing the undead Wolfs to sit up and then step out of the Preserving Tubes. Charles-Kilborne smiled and then closed his eyes. He opened them and Charles was alone again. The Wolfs stood in three lines of ten and waited his command. Charles blinked and shook his head slightly. He turned and walked out of the building, followed by his new undead troops.  
  
********************  
  
"Bloody useless child!"  
  
"Can't you do anything right?!"  
  
"Your whore of a mother must have been fucking another man to have produced such a retch of a child!"  
  
"If you can't do the work then you won't eat my food!"  
  
Memories tore through Charles mind as he slept. His mother dying under his fathers hand. The beatings he had suffered as a child.  
  
His arm jerked in his sleep, as if warding off a blow.  
  
1 "Weakling! I should throw you into the river and let you drown!"  
  
"Papa, don't. Please." Charles murmured in his sleep.  
  
2 "You fucking whore-son!"  
  
A hard fist slammed into the small child. His head smashed against the floor and darkness flooded his vision.  
  
He awoke in the cellar, his head throbbing with incredible pain. He winced as he pulled himself into a sitting position. Hot tears coursed down his face. His small frame shook uncontrollably.  
  
He reached up a thin hand and touched the side of his face. His right eye was swollen shut and blood trickled down from a shallow cut by his temple. A wave of nausea passed over him and he slipped into merciful darkness.  
  
********************  
  
Charles woke with a start and he looked around in confusion. He tried to remember where he was and what he was doing. A sharp pain lanced through his head and he groaned in pain. He fell back into the hard cot he had been sleeping on and rubbed at his eyes.  
  
Another sharp pain, more intense this time, shot through his head and he dropped his hands to his sides. His face fell back into an unemotional mask and sat up. After getting off of the cot he reached for the helm he had removed before lying down. Placing it on his head he walked slowly out of his tent and to his waiting troops, his mission once again his only reason for living.  
  
********************  
  
"Will he live?"  
  
"Of course!" the old man snapped. "Go fetch some water."  
  
The boy hurried away as the old man turned back to his patient. At the moment he opened his eyes.  
  
"Good. Finally awake. You sleep like an ox." The old man said.  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
"Synesta of course. The way you stumbled in here I thought you knew were you where going Conor."  
  
"How do you know my…Anges? By the Four Moons I thought you had already died!" Conor said, sitting up.  
  
The old man laughed and said, "As always, you are a common brute. Where have you been?"  
  
Conor's face grew serious and he said, "I thought you knew."  
  
Anges winked. "Of course, of course. But it is unseemly for the leader of the Eln Freedom Army to be stumbling around bruised and bleeding."  
  
"Gregory is dead." Conor said suddenly.  
  
The humor went out of the old man's eyes. "How?"  
  
"An assassin."  
  
Anges faced drained of what little color it had held and he asked, "Was he an Eln? With a glowing dirk?"  
  
"I don't know. He was masked and I saw only a dagger. Why?"  
  
Anges shook his head. "It matters not. Go get some rest. We'll talk later."  
  
The next time Conor opened his eyes he could see stars twinkling through the window and the edge of the Second Moon. He sat up and noticed that he had been left a fresh shirt and pants. A glass of cool water also sat next to him on the bedside table. He pushed the thin blanket that had been covering him and examined his wounds.  
  
Several scabs had formed on his knees and shins. Three of the cuts had required a small amount of stitches and these were located on his left thigh. He felt his chin and found that it was raw but not bleeding. He stretched his arms out and got out of the bed. After throwing on the new shirt and pants he swallowed the glass of water.  
  
Gregory's face flashed through Conor's mind. Conor clenched his fists in anger and a deep sense of loss. He and Gregory had been good friends for years, and now he was gone. Conor cursed The Ruler and his assassins. He forced himself to relax. Gregory was gone and it hurt, but he had lost many loved ones. He would survive. He had too.  
  
He remained in his room until he regained his composure and then left to find Anges.  
  
After a few minutes of searching through the marginally large dwelling Anges seemed to live in he found the old man asleep in a modest library.  
  
"Up you get you old goat." Conor said as he sat across from Anges.  
  
Anges opened his eyes yawned. "I see that the mighty Conor has awakened at last. Did you enjoy my house?"  
  
"Seems bigger than your last one."  
  
"The mayor of Synesta seems it fitting for me to be housed here."  
  
"The Holy Healer, right? I thought you quit calling yourself that long ago."  
  
"Bah. I heal people for coin now. I have no need for fame, only money to live on." Anges said.  
  
"And the mayor gave you a house to boot. You're more conniving then ever." Conor said with a shake of his head.  
  
"A man needs to grab what he can in the world these days. There is no longer any room for charity."  
  
"I will change that Anges. Then you will have to heal people out of the goodness of your heart." Conor said with a laugh.  
  
"I see your sense of humor hasn't faded over time either." Anges said with a slight smile.  
  
A young boy walked into the room carrying a tray with two clay goblets filled with watered wine. He set them down on the table between the two men and walked back out of the room.  
  
Conor picked one up and drank the wine all at most. Anges sipped his and then set it back down.  
  
Anges became serious and asked, "How is the rebellion going?"  
  
"Better recently. Did you see the map I had?" Conor asked.  
  
"Yes. What were you planning on doing with it?" Anges asked, leaning slightly forward.  
  
"I am going to kill The Ruler." 


	11. Chapter Ten Discoveries

The One Chapter Ten, Discoveries  
  
"So where do we go from here?" Magnus asked.  
  
"Go? Why, you go where you can." Gasper replied.  
  
"What the hell does that mean?" Crono exclaimed.  
  
"It means that you either go to one of two places. Your time," Gasper said, pointing at Crono, "and swimming home. Or Magnus' time, where you can wait until you figure something out."  
  
"Why can't we just stay here Gasper?" Lucca asked.  
  
"I'm afraid one of you will have to stay here anyway. Remember, more than three people in a Gate will result in it sending the travelers to the place of least resistance, here. The other three will have to find the way to get you three home." Gasper said.  
  
"Well shit." Magnus muttered.  
  
"Maybe I should stay." Lucca offered. "I mean, I could discuss things with Gasper while you three go look in Magnus' time."  
  
"But Lucca, you know more about the Gates then any of us." Marle said. "We need you to go and help the others. And Magnus needs to go as well because he's the only one who can guide us around his time. Why don't I stay?"  
  
"But Marle! I don't want you staying here by yourself!" Crono exclaimed.  
  
"Then you stay with her. I'm sure we'll be fine. Won't we Lucca?" Magnus said.  
  
"Well.I guess. Crono would probably just get in the way anyway." Lucca said with a smile.  
  
Crono just about shot a retort back but Marle cut him off. "We would both get in the way. Go on Lucca, have your fun with the machines and technology stuff. You're the genius here."  
  
Lucca laughed. "Ain't it the truth."  
  
"Well, if it's all sorted out, you two should get going." Gasper said, scratching absently at his chin. "Go on now."  
  
"Come one Magnus! We'll have a blast!" Lucca said, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the Gate room. She stood in front of the Gate leading to Magnus' time and asked, "All set? Then let's go!" She activated the Gate Key and the Gate opened, cool wind blowing through her lavender hair. She laughed again and walked into it, followed by Magnus.  
  
*******************  
  
"Perfect. Absolutely perfect."  
  
Kilborne sat in his chair, a smile on his lips. His Vision was coming true. As they always had. Magnus would travel to his time and look for a way home for his friends. He would instead find his way to the Elns. All like the vision had told him.  
  
But one thing still troubled Kilborne slightly. The Vision had remained cloudy after he had seen Magnus travel to the Elns. But it only bothered him slightly. He would twist Destiny to his own ends.  
  
He had the power. He had the means. He had the Vision. He had Charles and scores of soldiers.  
  
He would have Magnus too.  
  
Soon.  
  
********************  
  
Sylphis lay on her cot massaging her raw hands. The water used to clean the dishes that were used in the castle was harsh on her hands. But the small pay she received was all she had to live off of, so a bit of pain was OK.  
  
"A bit of pain indeed. Stupid dishes. Stupid Charin too. He could at least learn to be polite." Sylphis murmured to herself. "But of course, he doesn't have to. Head of the Kitchen. Such an important role he has." Sarcasm dripped off of her words as she spoke them. "More like Big Head of the Kitchen." The words brought an image of Charin falling down because of an enormous head. She giggled in spite of the pain flaring in her hands.  
  
Sylphis sighed and rolled over onto her side. She would need her sleep. Charin would undoubtedly work the kitchen staff as hard as ever in the morning. She closed her eyes and fell into the sweet escape of sleep.  
  
She awoke the next morning to quiet but insistent knocking on her door. She groaned and rolled off of her bed, stumbling to the door. She opened it to find Olga standing outside of it.  
  
"Inside your room child, quickly. Close the door behind you!" the old woman said, scurrying inside the room.  
  
"What are you doing Olga?" Sylphis said, closing the door and sitting back down on her bed.  
  
"Another servant was killed last night. They found 'em stuffed in a storage room. Deathly pale 'e was. They say 'is blood was all drained out or something." Olga said.  
  
Sylphis' tanned face paled slightly. "Another?! That makes about ten this week! What in the Seven Layers of Hell is going on here?"  
  
"I can tell you one thing. It wasn't The Ruler. 'E was gone this time. Someone else is killin' 'em all."  
  
"Olga, I'm scared. I mean, more than usual. I know the The Ruler is insane, but he doesn't kill his servants off in this big of numbers!" Sylphis said, biting her nail.  
  
"Hush. Don't be saying things like that in the castle. You'll be the next ta decorate the walls." Olga said. She walked back over to the door. "I came ta tell ya ta be careful. Charin's in a rage right now. 'E says that the food in the storage was ruined, so 'e is likely to take it out on the kitchen staff."  
  
"Thank you Olga. I'll hurry up then."  
  
"Gods bless ya Sylphis." Olga said as she walked out of the room, the oak door closing behind her.  
  
Olga hurried through the hallways, her next destination her own room. She needed to change and then get to work. She reached her room and entered it, closing the door behind her. She changed and ran her hand through her gray thinning hair.  
  
She sighed. Even by Eln standards she was terribly old. Her husband had died the past year, murdered by The Ruler Benjamin's soldiers.  
  
She shook her head. Tears should have come but she had cried herself out even before her husband had died. She pushed those thoughts out of her head. She was a servant to The Ruler now, and too old to change it.  
  
As she turned around to go back into the hallway, pain burst through her chest. 'A heart attack.' She thought to herself. 'Finally got too old.' She reached for her chest but found instead a blade jutting from her chest. Confusion swamped her as she fell forward. Then she saw nothing.  
  
Shade pulled the dirk from the old woman's still warm corpse and stepped from the shadows. The blade glowed an angry red, as if upset at him from disrupting its feeding. Shade looked at the crumpled body in front of him and then stooped down beside it. He grabbed it by the back of its shirt and picked it up.  
  
As he placed it on the bed he whispered to himself, "You're getting so hungry lately." He placed the dirk on top of the wound in the former Olga's back and left it there. It shimmered as if in anticipation then pulsed between dark red and a lighter shade of red. 'Like a heart beat.' Shade said in his mind.  
  
The blood flowed from Olga's body to the blade for a few minutes longer, in which time Shade found himself thinking of Sylphis.  
  
'She can't possibly have learnt that I was here. That means that either the slavers caught her or she came here willingly.' Shade felt anger rushing through him. 'The fool! She has no idea the danger she poses on herself!' The anger brought a faint flush to his pale cheeks underneath his mask. 'What were they thinking, letting her come here!' Shade felt the anger about to take control and pushed it back. 'No. Emotions will not help. I will have to remove her form here myself. I will be able to concentrate then.'  
  
With that thought resolved Shade glanced down at the dirk. It had finished feeding. Shade bent down and picked it up, sheathing it. He turned and slid through the small window in the back of the room. As he disappeared out into the night, the door opened to the chamber.  
  
"Olga? Are you here." Sylphis' voice stopped short as she saw Olga's body lying on the floor. Sylphis stared in shock at what she saw. Her friend since coming the castle, dead at her feet. Sylphis felt the scream racing to her lips and clamped her mouth shut. A groan of dismay escaped her lips but that was all. "Olga.no." Sylphis felt herself falling to her knees. She put her hand gently on the dead woman's head, stroking the hair softly. It was then that she noticed what had killed the old woman.  
  
Something had been thrust through Olga's back and through her chest. Sylphis also noticed that she was pale. Very pale. Like her blood had been drained out. Realization dawned on Sylphis.  
  
Tears welling in her eyes, Sylphis rose unsteadily to her feet and took a step out into the hallway. She glanced around fearfully, the self- preserving instinct suddenly unlocked in her mind. She ran blindly back to her own room, not noticing the stares of other servants in the halls.  
  
She reached her room and flung herself on to her bed. Tears flowed freely and Sylphis could do little but let them flow. All that she could see in her mind was Olga's face, the look that had been frozen to it.  
  
Pain.  
  
********************  
  
Benjamin paced across the floor in front of his throne. He was getting impatient again. He had been waiting for what seemed like days to him for Charles to come to him with the troops promised. His anger rising he plopped himself down in his chair in almost child-like impatience.  
  
"He should have been here by now. The bastard is late with my troops." Benjamin tapped his foot on the ground slightly. Kill something. "Shut up! You cannot control me or tell me when to do something!" Do it now! "Quiet!" The voice silenced itself quicker than usual but Benjamin did not notice. The door had opened to his throne room.  
  
"Finally! Where the hell have you been with my troops!" Benjamin demanded.  
  
Charles stood in the doorway quietly for a moment before stepping into the room. He looked at Benjamin and said, "Watch how you speak to me."  
  
"Ha! You're not my superior! I can speak however I like to you!" Benjamin laughed and then spoke again. "Now tell me what took so long! Mind yourself, I have been know to have a short temper."  
  
Charles studied Benjamin without emotion and then stepped closer, as if to whisper. As he closed in on Benjamin his hand shot forward and grasped Benjamin's currently unprotected neck. "Listen to me. I speak for Kilborne. I am Charles. I will be addressed according to how you would speak to him." Charles squeezed Benjamin's neck harder and held him for a second longer before releasing him.  
  
Benjamin was about to speak before Charles turned around and raised his hand to the open door. A man who had been standing there was dragged through it and into the room by unseen hands. He struggled slightly as he stopped by Charles, his neck now in Charles grasp. Charles gave a quick jerk with his hand and the man fell dead to the floor.  
  
"Your rule must not be disputed here. You must be seen in fear and awe until it is completely conquered." Charles said as he turned back to Benjmain. "Kill any whom have heard of this conversation."  
  
"Yes sir." Benjamin said with heavy sarcasm.  
  
Charles seemed not to notice as he continued to speak. "I have brought men whom I will command in destroying this rebel force of Elns. Do nothing to commit your troops to any fights until further notice."  
  
"What?!" Benjamin yelled. "I will be the one to crush this rebellion. Where are the troops you promised me?!"  
  
"I said I was bringing troops to stop the rebels. That is all." Charles replied. "I will be leaving now." He said as he turned and walked out the door he had entered from.  
  
Benjamin stared at the open door in amazement. Most would have died from the attitude Charles had shown him. For once in his life, the voice failed to surge up and tell him to kill something. Then Benjamin began to laugh.  
  
********************  
  
Magnus sat back in one of his chairs and looked at the wall. He had been back in his time for about a week and he had no idea what to do. Lucca said she had an idea but had not gotten anywhere with it yet.  
  
He was bored.  
  
He had been occupied with something the first few days back though. He had taught Lucca how to use a computer. The basics at least. The rest she had and was picking up by herself. So she had spent hours the night at the library, tapping away and having a grand old time, while he had sat and felt useless.  
  
"This sucks." Magnus said to the room. He stood up and started pacing. "Wish I had something to do. Just cause I don't know anything about 'Gate Theorems' and 'Physics'." Magnus sunk back into the chair he had gotten out of. "Bored, bored, bored!"  
  
"Shut up in there!" Lucca shouted from the bedroom. She sat over several hundreds of sheets of writing and shifted through them. "I know I put it somewhere.Ah ha! There it is!" Lucca exclaimed as she pulled a single sheet from the pile.  
  
"What?" Magnus asked from the other room.  
  
Lucca stood up and walked over to Magnus. She threw the sheet into his lap and said, "A bunch of calculations. I think I found out what causes Gates and how they work. Mathematically, that is. So I might be able to predict the next shift in them."  
  
"Great!" Magnus said. "So.anything I can do?" he asked.  
  
"Not a thing. Unless you like math that is?" Lucca asked.  
  
"Hate it. But if you need something burnt or anything tell me. I'm going crazy just sitting here." Magnus said.  
  
"Don't bother. I'm not hungry. But try to keep it down in here." Lucca said with a grin.  
  
"Shut up." Magnus said, a grin splitting across his face as well.  
  
Lucca chuckled. 'What a goof. Just like Crono.' She thought to herself. Aloud she said "I need to go to that lie-berry again."  
  
"That's library, Lucca. Library. And yeah sure, a walk would be considerably better than sitting here listen to you putter around my bedroom worrying over some papers." Magnus said, lifting himself from the chair he had been sitting in. He walked over to the front door and threw on a navy blue windbreaker. "It's supposed to be cold out there. Here." Magnus tossed a yellow jacket to her. "Don't get it wet though. It's a fleece and when it's wet it weighs a ton."  
  
Lucca slipped the yellow fleece on and smiled at Magnus. "Thanks."  
  
"No problem." He said as he opened the door and stepped outside. "Come on."  
  
Lucca walked past Magnus and he pulled the door shut, locking it behind him. He pocketed the key and continued walking towards the stairs out of his building.  
  
********************  
  
Dedra straightened herself in her saddle. She tried to adjust Mik but his bulky weight seemed impossible to move without pushing him off the saddle. She sighed. "The poor kid."  
  
Her horse trotted slowly but still fast enough to make good time without injuring it. She occasionally glanced over her shoulder or stared into the distance. She wasn't expecting to find anyone with hostile intentions towards her or Mik, but she had been trained to be careful.  
  
As she neared her destination, she slowed her horse to a walk and proceeded more carefully, looking for hidden traps and markings that would give them away. Eventually, after over a half-hour of careful plodding her horse brought her to a cave hidden from view by brush and a few well placed hills. Lifting Mik from the saddle she placed him on the ground and tied her horse to a near-by tree.  
  
"I know you don't like being tied like this dear, but you have been known to spook when it gets dark." She whispered to the horse.  
  
In response the horse snorted and shook its head. Dedra laughed and picked Mik back up. Grunting in exertion over his weight she carried the unconscious Wolf inside the cave and to a gray colored door. Knocking with her free hand she waited a response. Receiving none she placed her hand in a small hole near the door and pulled a lever hidden inside.  
  
Noiselessly the door opened a few inches and Dedra pushed it open the rest of the way. Walking as swift as possible she looked around for the Elns that should be walking in the cave halls. Finding none she became suspicious. Ducking into the first room she saw she closed the door behind her. Now in darkness Dedra reached out and grabbed a lamp on a shelf to her right. With ease that would have surprised anyone but a North Person Dedra lit the lamp in complete darkness and then looked around at her surroundings. Seeing a pallet against the wall Dedra placed Mik on it and sighed with relief.  
  
"Heavy bastard." She said. Leaving the lamp on the shelf Dedra opened the door and slipped out of it. Darting her eyes from side to side she began to search the now unfriendly cave. As she walked further down the hallway she smelt a sickly sweet smell.  
  
Eyes widening in surprise Dedra wrapped a piece of silk over her mouth. Seeing the silk brought painful memories to her mind but she ruthlessly pushed them down. She would have time later for the past.  
  
"Foolish woman. Thinking of your childhood when there is flrech powder everywhere." Mentally thanking her grandmother for teaching her herbs she tried to recall how to contact the flrech powder. Smiling in self- accomplishment she pulled a leaf from her belt and crunched it in her mouth. She found it humorous that the most potent sleep herb could be made useless by a simple mint leaf.  
  
Taking the silk from her mouth she began to search for other victims. Coming across what looked like a meeting room she gasped in horror  
  
Sprawled in a chair was an Eln with scars running across his face. "Assassin." She hissed. "Gods damn it, Shade."  
  
Rushing to the fallen Eln Dedra began to examine him to see if she could save him. Looking up for a second her gaze settled on the banner hanging on the wall. A white tree.  
  
"Rebels, you have made yourselves quite the enemy, haven't you." She said. 


End file.
